i-NRLF 


575 


PUBLICATIONS 

OF    THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA 


AMERICANA  GERMANICA 

MONOGRAPHS  DEVOTED  TO  THE  COMPARATIVE 
STUDY  OF  THE 

Literary,  Linguistic  and  Other  Cultural  Relations 

OF 

Germany  and  America 

EDITOR 

MARION    DEXTER    LEARNED 

University  of  Pennsylvania 
(See  List  at  the  End  of  the  Book) 


HEINE  IN  AMERICA 


Thesis  presented  to  the  Faculty  oj  the  Graduate  School 
of  the  Universitv  of  Pennsylvania  in  partial  fulfill 
ment  of  the  requirements  for  the  Degree 
of  Doctor  of  Philosophy. 


By 

H.  B.  SACHS 


Gmertccma  (Sermamca 

NUMBER  23. 


PUBLICATIONS  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA 

1916 


COPYRIGHT  1916 

BY 
H.  B.  SACHS 


f  T  2  3-3 
S3 


TO 
MARION  DEXTER  LEARNED 


36129 


INTRODUCTION. 

The  spirit  of  the  world 

Beholding  the  absurdity  of  men— 

Their  vaunts,  their  feats — let  a  sardonic  smile 

For  one  short  moment  wander  o'er  his  lips. 

That  smile  was  Heine ! 

— Matthew  Arnold. 

In  1826  the  first  volume  of  the  Reisebilder  appeared,  and 
Germany  realized  instantly  that  it  possessed  a  new  great  writer 
of  prose.  In  1827  came  Das  Bitch  der  Lleder,  and  Europe  pos 
sessed  a  new  great  poet.  Yet,  before  these  facts  could  be  duly 
recognized  and  openly  acknowledged  in  England  and  America, 
the  genius  of  Heine  had  to  conquer  great  prejudices.  Heine 
detested  the  English;  he  said  that  he  might  settle  in  England  if 
it  were  not  that  he  would  find  two  things  there — coal-smoke  and 
Englishmen,  neither  of  which  he  could  abide.  The  air  of 
London  felt  like  an  oaken  cudgel  upon  his  shoulders.  His  notes 
on  English  institutions,  literature,  the  English  attitude  were 
insolently  malignant.  All  this  was  not  calculated  to  endear  him 
to  the  leaders  of  English  opinion.  Consequently  we  need  not  be 
surprised  to  find  eminent  critics  joining  in  the  general  expres 
sion  of  indignation  and  abhorrence.  "Here  was  a  poet,"  Kings- 
ley  said,  "who  might  or  might  not  be  a  genius,  but  who  was 
certainly  a  leper/'  Men  like  Carlyle,  who  were  the  interpreters 
of  German  literature  in  England,  and  whose  opinions  were  re 
garded  as  authoritative,  did  not  hesitate  to  pass  judgment  of 
condemnation  on  Heine.  "That  blackguard  Heine"  is  Carlyle's 
only  reference  to  Heine.  Everything  about  him  proved,  in 
English  eyes,  detestable.  He  was  a  Jew,  and  a  pagan  and  a 
skeptic — a  truly  delicious  compound  for  the  Englishman.  He 
had  erected  an  idolatrous  Napoleon  legend  just  when  the  Na 
poleonic  phantom  had  been  laid  comfortably  to  rest.  In  Eng 
land  it  was  long  before  the  fascinating  genius  of  Heine  made 
peace  with  the  spirit  of  the  nation.  In  Clough  and  Matthew 

(9) 


TO  Introduction 

Arnold  we  have  the  first  conscious  introduction  of  Heine's  in 
fluences  into  English  poetry.  The  school  of  Pater  and  Swin 
burne  adopted  Heine's  modern  and  yet  intense  paganism.  The 
memory  of  Heine  thus  gradually  overcame  the  bitter  prejudices 
of  English  readers.  The  interest  in  Heine  has  increased  amaz 
ingly  in  England;  thanks  in  the  first  place  to  Matthew  Arnold's 
admirable  essay,1  and  next  to  the  writers  of  various  magazine 
articles,  which  have  appeared  in  England  and  in  America. 
Special  mention  must  be  made  of  the  excellent  contributions 
towards  an  enlightened  estimate  of  Heine's  works  by  George 
Eliot,2  J.  D.  Lester,3  and  Charles  Grant.4  We  cannot  overesti 
mate  the  great  influences  which  these  views  have  had  in  Amer 
ican  criticisms  of  Heine.  In  many  instances  American  critics 
have  either  quoted,  restated  with  approbation  or  wholly  appropri 
ated  the  estimates  of  Arnold  and  Grant.  Matthew  Arnold 
in  his  remarkable  essay  on  Heine  said :  "Heine  is  note 
worthy  because  he  is  the  most  important  successor  and  con- 
tinuator  of  Goethe  in  Goethe's  most  important  line  of  activity 
— his  activity  as  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  liberation  of  humanity. 
Heine  is  in  the  European  literature  of  that  quarter  of 
a  century,  which  follows  the  death  of  Goethe,  incomparably  the 
most  important  spirit."  Such  an  estimate  of  Heine  from  Eng 
land's  most  distinguished  critic  could  not  fail  to  dominate  Amer 
ican  criticism  on  the  works  of  the  poet. 

Precisely  the  same  prejudices,  which  existed  in  England 
against  Heine,  appeared  in  America  in  a  less  bitter  form.  So 
long  as  American  criticism  on  German  literature  was  influenced 
by  Gervinus,  Menzel  and  other  detractors  of  Heine,  together 
with  the  indignation  of  the  Englishmen,  we  must  not  expect  to 
find  just  and  sympathetic  criticism.  Misconceptions,  inaccura 
cies  must  arise  so  long  as  original  thought  and  independent  in 
vestigations  were  deemed  unnecessary.  Longfellow  writes  an 


1  Cornhill's  Magazine,  Vol.  8,  1863,  pp.  233-249.     Reprinted  in  Essays  on 
Criticism. 

2  Westminster  Review,  1856.    Reprinted  in  her  essays. 

3  Fortnightly  Review,  Vol.  6,  N.  S.,  1869,  pp.  287-303. 
*  Contemporary  Review,  Vol.  38,  1880,  pp.  372-395. 


Introduction  1 1 

essay  on  Heine  repeating  the  views  of  depreciative  German 
critics  rather  than  stating  his  own.  All  early  critics  place  im 
plicit  confidence  in  the  statements  and  anecdotes  of  Strodt- 
mann  and  have  no  scruples  about  inserting  absurdities  attributed 
to  Heine.  One  reviewer  reports  Heine  as  dead  in  1849.  Almost 
all  critics  quote,  in  order  to  add  authority  to  their  views,  a  re 
mark  of  Goethe  given  in  Eckermann's  Conversations:  "One 
thing  is  lacking  in  him — love."  The  reference,  as  one  of  Mr. 
Storr's  5  reviewers  pointed  out,  is  not  to  Heine,  but  to  Count 
Platen.  How  could  anyone  acquainted  with  Heine's  genius  as 
sume  that  Goethe  would  give  expression  to  such  an  absurd 
opinion?  Mr.  Storr  pleads  as  an  extenuating  circumstance  that 
he  was  misled  by  Strodtmann.6  Mr.  William  Sharp,7  the 
author  of  the  best  English  monograph  on  Heine,  and  Matthew 
Arnold,  both  in  his  Essays  on  Criticism,  and  in  his  poem  Heine's 
Grave,  endorse  this  absurdity. 

If  the  bitterness  of  the  early  American  reviewers  of  Heine's 
works  was  due  to  the  English  influence  and  the  slavish  adher 
ence  to  views  of  German  critics,  Heine  did  not  fail  to  add  a 
provocation  by  his  fierce  and  withering  satire.  Not  satisfied 
with  his  ridicule  of  the  English,  Heine  made  a  virulent  attack 
on  Americans.  In  1830  he  writes  to  his  friend  Borne  from  the 
lonely  little  island  of  Heligoland:  ".  .  .  or  shall  I  betake 
myself  to  America — to  that  huge  region  of  free  men,  where  the 
invisible  fetters  would  be  more  galling  to  me  than  the  visible 
ones  at  home;  and  where  the  most  odious  of  all  tyrants — the  ! 
mob — exercises  its  brutal  authority.  Thou  knowest  what  I 
think  of  this  accursed  land,  which  I  used  to  love  before  I  had 
understood  it.  And  yet  my  vocation  as  liberator  compels  me 
publicly  to  praise  and  extol  this  country!  Oh,  you  good  Ger 
man  peasants,  go  to  America!  You  will  there  find  neither 
princes  nor  nobles;  all  men  %are  alike  there;  all  are  equally 


5  Heine's   Travel  Pictures,  translated  by  Francis  Storr.  2d  Ed.   London, 
1895.     Preface. 

1867-69. 

6  Adolf  Strodtmann,  Heinrich  Heine's  Leben  und  Werke.    2  Bds.  Berlin, 

7  Life  of  Heinrich  Heine,  by  William  Sharp.     London,  1888. 


12  Introduction 

churls — except,  indeed,  a  few  millions  whose  skins  are  black  or 
brown,  and  who  are  treated  like  dogs." 

By  such  denunciations  Heine  alienated  many  Americans. 
Are  we  to  wonder  that  American  critics  assumed  a  hostile  at 
titude  towards  him  and  endeavored  to  find  cause  for  denounc 
ing  his  character?  This  indulging  in  personalities,  for  which 
they  condemned  Heine's  criticism  of  A.  W.  Schlegel  and  Borne, 
now  became  characteristic  of  the  criticism  on  Heine.  Ripley 
and  other  eminent  critics  in  their  reviews  of  Heine's  works  con 
cerned  themselves  chiefly  with  condemning  his  character  and 
searching  for  imperfections  in  his  works.  When  they  found 
any  flaw  they  proceeded  at  once  to  exaggerate  it.  But  the  time 
for  a  more  just  appreciation  of  Heine  was  destined  to  come  and 
was  ushered  in  by  George  Eliot  and  Matthew  Arnold. 

But  misunderstandings  of  Heine's  character  did  not  cease 
until  the  publication  of  Heine's  Familienleben  by  his  nephew 
Baron  von  Embden  more  than  ten  years  ago.  Heine's  affec 
tion  for  his  mother,  sister  and  his  surprising  devotion  to  his 
wife  came  as  a  complete  revelation  to  all  who  had  painted  him 
as  a  devil. 


Heine  in  American  Criticism. 

NORTH  AMERICAN  REVIEW. 
(Vol.  XLII,  1836,  pp.  163-178.) 

This  article  is  a  review  of  Letters  Auxiliary  to  the  History 
of  Modern  Polite  Literature  in  Germany,  by  Heinrich  Heine. 
Translated  from  German  by  G.  W.  Haven,  Boston,  1836. 

Acknowledging  that  the  book  presents  the  views  of  a  man 
of  uncommon  talent  and  power,  the  reviewer  declares  that  Heine 
is  an  enemy  of  superstition,  bigotry  and  tyranny  without  being 
a  friend  of  religion  and  true  liberty;  a  hater  of  the  vices  of 
others,  without  being  a  lover  of  virtue.  Heine's  perception  of 
others'  foibles  and  faults  is  as  quick  and  sure,  as  his  ridicule  is 
pointed  and  his  sarcasm  withering.  His  natural  powers  are  in 
disputably  of  a  high  order.  As  a  critic  he  exhibits  a  penetration 
and  clearness  of  perception  and  strength  and  distinctness  of  de 
lineation,  an  abundance  and  happiness  of  illustration,  an  appro 
priateness  of  comparison,  and  a  liveliness,  ease,  and  vigor  of 
style,  rarely  united  in  one  man.  His  control  of  the  language  is 
remarkable.  The  reviewer  doubts  whether  Heine  is  surpassed 
or  equalled  in  this  respect,  by  any  writer  of  that  time.  After 
some  comment  on  Heine's  prejudices  and  unfairness  as  a  critic, 
the  reviewer  says :  "Heine  combines  the  volatile,  effervescent 
spirit  of  the  French  with  the  philosophical  depth  of  the  Ger 
mans.  His  poetical  talent,  even  if  he  had  not  evinced  it  by  the 
particular  productions  which  rank  him  high  among  the  living 
poets  of  Germany,  is  apparent  both  from  his  appreciation  of  the 
same  power  in  others,  and  from  the  beauty  of  many  passages  in 
the  work  under  consideration,  passages  which  have  all  that  con 
stitutes  true  poetry  except  versification.  .  .  .  Heine  pre 
sents  a  mixture  of  good  and  bad  qualities.  .  .  .  We  are  far 
from  advocating  or  even  excusing  his  political,  theological  and 
philosophical  opinions;  but  we  would,  in  fairness,  acknowl 
edge  the  correctness,  justice  and  originality  of  many  of  his 
criticisms." 

(13) 


14  Heine  in  American  Criticism 

The  reviewer  then  proceeds  to  make  the  reader  acquainted 
with  the  original  of  Mr.  Haven's  translation.  In  doing  this  he 
uses  as  far  as  possible  Heine's  own  words,  in  order  to  give  not 
merely  an  account  of  Heine's  opinions,  but  also  some  specimens 
of  his  manner.  In  speaking  of  Heine's  attack  on  A.  W.  Schlegel 
the  reviewer  waxes  warm  and  says:  'This  is  on  the  whole  the 
most  exceptionable  portion,  indicating  a  relentless,  atrocious 
hostility,  for  which  there  is,  upon  Heine's  own  showing,  no 
sort  of  ground.  We  are  naturally  led  to  suspect  some  private 
grudge.  The  description  of  the  personal  appearance  of  A.  W. 
Schlegel,  and  the  allusions  to  his  private  affairs,  are  so  evidently 
in  bad  taste  and  proofs  of  2,  rancorous  and  implacable  malice, 
that  we  pass  by  them  in  silent  contempt." 

Heine  attributes  Tieck's  change  from  his  first  to  his  second 
manner  to  the  influence  of  the  Schlegels,  and  the  change  to  the 
third  manner  to  the  influence  of  Goethe.  These  changes  struck 
Heine  as  a  strange  discrepancy  between  the  understanding  and 
the  imagination.  The  reviewer  here  takes  exception  to  Heine's 
view  and  endeavors  to  explain  these  three  manners  of  Tieck  as 
the  principal  stages  of  a  perfectly  natural  and  spontaneous  pro 
cess  of  the  inner  man;  a  perfect  harmony;  the  absence  of  ex 
tremes;  in  a  word  the  result  of  a  natural  and  complete  develop 
ment. 

The  review  concludes  with  remarks  on  Heine's  criticism  of 
Schelling,  Hegel,  Steffens  and  Gorres,  which  the  reviewer  con 
siders  full  of  interest  and  humor,  but  by  no  means  free  from 
prejudice. 

HENRY  WADSWORTH  LONGFELLOW  (1807-1882). 

1807-1882. 

Longfellow  affords  an  excellent  illustration  of  a  man  of 
talent  and  genius  failing  to  understand  the  significance  of  Heine 
in  the  literature  of  Europe.  The  views  he  expresses  in  his 
article  on  Heine  in  Graham's  Magazine  8  are  not  quite  in  accord 
with  what  he  really  felt  concerning  Heine.  This  will  be  evident 


8  Graham's  Magazine,  Vol.  XX,  1842,  pp.  134-137- 


Heine  in  American  Criticism  15 

from  the  quotations  from  his  journal.  Although  Longfellow 
does  not  omit  mentioning  all  the  faults  attributed  to  Heine's 
style  by  the  enraged  German  critics,  yet  he  does  not  hesitate  to 
imitate  Heine's  manner  in  Hyperion  and  Voices  of  the  Night. 
This  illustrates  the  truth  of  the  saying  that  what  a  man  con 
demns  publicly,  he  often  hastens  zealously  to  imitate. 

Matthew  Arnold's  estimate  of  Heine  on  first  reading  was 
anything  but  favorable,  as  his  letters  9  show.  Happily  Arnold 
travelled  soon  far  from  the  state  of  mind  in  which  he  could 
regard  the  Reisebilder  as  "the  most  ridiculous  thing  in  the 
world."  He  knew  that  to  speak  of  Heine  as  a  man  who  tried  to 
be  gloomy  was  the  reverse  of  the  truth,  and  he  consequently 
expressed  the  truth  upon  mature  reflection.  But  Longfellow  re 
printed  his  essay  to  serve  as  an  introduction  to  the  article  on 
Heine  in  the  Poets  and  Poetry  of  Europe  a  few  years  later. 

In  Hyperion  (1839),  Chapter  VII,  in  speaking  of  Menzel's 
attack  on  Goethe,  Paul  Fleming  says :  "But,  of  all  that  has 
been  said  or  sung,  what  most  pleases  me  is  Heine's  Apologetic, 
if  I  may  so  call  it;  in  which  he  says  that  'the  minor  poets  who 
flourished  under  the  imperial  reign  of  Goethe,  resemble  a  young 
forest'  .  .  .  (Cf.  Heine's  view  of  Goethe  in  Romantische 
Schidc)"  After  quoting  the  passage,  Paul  Fleming  says: 
"Do  you  not  think  that  beautiful?"  "Yes,  very  beautiful,"  says 
the  Baron,  "and  I  am  glad  to  see  that  you  can  find  something  to 
admire  in  my  favorite  author,  notwithstanding  his  frailties;  or, 
to  use  an  old  German  saying,  that  you  can  drive  the  hens  out 
of  the  garden  without  trampling  down  the  beds." 

The  Romantische  Schule  seems  to  have  been  a  great  favorite 
with  Longfellow  and  he  quoted  the  sections  treating  of  Goethe, 
Des  Knabenwunderhorn  and  Das  Niebelungen  Lied  in  his  Poets 
and  Poetry  of  Europe. 

In  his  article  in  Graham's  Magazine,10  Longfellow  says: 
"Ludwig  Borne  once  said  that  Voltaire  was  only  the  John  the 


9  Letters  of  Arnold,  edited  by  W.  E.  Russel.    Vol.  i,  pp.  10-11.    Letter  to 
his  mother,  May  /,  1848. 

10  Graham's  Magazine,  Vol.  XX,  pp.  134-137. 


1 6  Heine  in  American  Criticism 

Baptist  of  Antichrist,  but  that  Heine  was  Antichrist  himself. 
Perhaps  he  paid  Heine  too  great  a  compliment;  yet  the  remark 
is  true  as  far  as  this,  that  it  points  him  out  as  the  leader  of  that 
new  school  in  Germany  which  is  seeking  to  establish  a  religion 
of  sensuality,  and  to  build  a  palace  of  Pleasure  on  the  ruins 
of  the  church.  The  school  is  known  under  the  name  of  Young 
Germany.  It  is  skeptical  and  sensual;  and  seems  desirous  of 
trying  again  the  experiment  so  often  tried  before,  but  never 
with  any  success,  of  living  without  a  God.  Heine  expresses 
this  in  phrases  too  blasphemous  or  too  voluptuous  to  repeat. 
Heine's  plans  for  regenerating  society  are  at  best  but  vague 
opinions  thrown  out  recklessly  and  at  random,  like  fire-brands, 
that  set  in  a  flame  whatever  light  matter  they  fall  upon. 

"The  style  of  Heine  is  remarkable  for  vigor,  wit  and  bril 
liancy;  but  is  wanting  in  taste  and  refinement;  to  the  reckless 
ness  of  Byron  he  adds  the  sentimentality  of  Sterne.  The 
Reisebilder  is  a  kind  of  Don  Juan  in  prose,  with  passages  from 
the  Sentimental  Journey.  He  is  always  in  extremes,  either  of 
praise  or  censure;  setting  at  naught  the  decencies  of  life,  and 
treating  the  most  sacred  things  with  frivolity.  Throughout 
his  writings  you  see  traces  of  a  morbid,  ill-regulated  mind;  of 
deep  feeling,  disappointment  and  suffering.  His  sympathies 
seem  to  have  died  within  him,  like  Ugolino's  children  in  the 
tower  of  Famine.  With  all  his  various  powers,  he  wants  the  one 
great  power — the  power  of  truth !  He  wants,  too,  that  ennobling 
principle  of  all  human  endeavors,  the  aspiration  after  an  ideal 
standard,  that  is  higher  than  himself.  In  a  word  he  wants 
sincerity  and  spirituality. 

"In  the  highest  degree  reprehensible,  too,  is  the  fierce,  im 
placable  hatred  with  which  Heine  pursues  his  foes.  No  man 
should  write  of  another  as  he  permits  himself  to  do  at  times. 
In  speaking  of  Schlegel,  as  he  does  in  his  German  literature,  he 
is  utterly  without  apology.  And  yet  to  such  remorseless  invec- 
tiveness,  to  such  witty  sarcasms,  he  is  indebted  to  a  great  degree 
for  his  popularity.  It  was  not  till  after  he  had  bitten  the  heel 
of  Hercules,  that  the  Crab  was  placed  among  the  constellations. 


Heine  in  American  Criticism  17 

"The  minor  poems  of  Heine,  like  most  of  his  prose  writings, 
are  but  a  portrait  of  himself.  The  same  melancholy  tone — the 
same  endless  sigh — pervades  them.  Though  they  possess  the 
highest  lyric  merit,  they  are  for  the  most  part  fragmentary — 
expressions  of  some  momentary  state  of  feeling — sudden  ejacula 
tion  of  pain  or  pleasure,  of  restlessness,  impatience,  regret,  long 
ing,  love.  They  profess  to  be  songs  and  as  songs  must  they  be 
judged  and  as  German  songs.  Thus  these  imperfect  expressions 
of  feeling — these  mere  suggestions  of  thought, — this  luminous 
mist,  that  half  reveals,  half  hides  the  sense, — this  selection  of 
topics  from  scenes  of  every-day  life,  and  in  fine,  this  prevailing 
tone  of  sentimental  sadness,  will  not  seem  affected,  misplaced  nor 
exaggerated.  At  the  same  time  it  must  be  confessed  that  the 
trivial  and  commonplace  recur  too  frequently  in  these  songs. 
Here,  likewise,  as  in  the  prose  of  Heine,  the  lofty  aim  is  want 
ing;  we  listen  in  vain  for  the  spirit-stirring  note — for  the  word 
of  power — for  those  ancestral  melodies,  which  amid  the  uproar 
of  the  world,  breathe  in  our  ears  forevermore  the  voices  of 
consolation,  encouragement  and  warning.  Heine  is  not  suffi 
ciently  in  earnest  to  be  a  great  poet." 

How  beautifully  and  poetically  has  Longfellow  pointed  out 
all  conceivable  as  well  as  inconceivable  defects  in  Heine's  style! 
Yet  how  inadequate,  unfair  and  negative  is  this  criticism !  Long 
fellow  fails  to  see  Heine's  real  place  in  the  world's  literature 
and  his  real  contribution  and  influence.  Not  a  word  does  Long 
fellow  say  about  Heine's  wonderful  sea-poetry!  Probably  when 
Longfellow  read  the  Romanzero  he  reached  different  conclu 
sions.  Instead  of  striving  to  refute  the  misstatements  and 
exaggerations  of  Longfellow's  criticism  we  will  leave  that  for 
subsequent  reviews.  Let  us  quote  a  passage  from  Longfellow's 
journal  to  see  what  he  said  a  few  years  after  this  criticism 
appeared  in  Graham's  Magazine. 

In  the  Journal, ^  June  4,  1846,  Longfellow  commented  on 
the  Book  of  Songs  as  follows:  "A  true  summer  morning,  warm 


11  Life  of  H.   W.  Longfellow,  edited  by  Samuel  Longfellow.     3  Vols. 
Boston,  1893.    Vol.  II,  p.  41. 


1 8  Heine  in  American  Criticism 

and  breezy.  F.  sat  under  the  linden-tree  and  read  to  me  Heine's 
poems,  while  I  lay  under  a  hay-cock.  .  .  .  Heine,  delicious 
poet  for  such  an  hour !  What  a  charm  there  is  about  his  Buck 
der  Lieder!  Ah,  here  they  would  be  held  by  most  people  as 
ridiculous.  Many  poetic  souls  there  are  here,  and  many  lovers 
of  song,  but  life  and  its  ways  and  ends  are  prosaic  in  this 
country  to  the  last  degree." 

Other  passages  might  be  quoted  to  prove  that  Longfellow's 
appreciation  of  Heine  became  more  sympathetic  but  this  will 
suffice.  Later  we  shall  see  how  Longfellow  caught  the  manner 
of  Heine  in  his  poetry. 

SARAH  AUSTIN.  12 

Remarkable,  considering  the  date  when  it  was  written,  is 
the  pregnant  and  just  tribute  paid  to  the  merits  of  Heine  in 
Sarah  Austin's  brief  sketch.  After  giving  some  well  chosen  speci 
mens  of  Heine's  brilliant  and  witty  prose  style,  she  proceeds  to 
give  a  brief  biographical  and  critical  sketch,  calling  attention,  in 
a  graceful  manner,  to  Heine's  significance  in  European  literature 
as  follows:  "Some  of  his  songs  are  beautiful,  especially  those 
written  in  Heligoland,  the  imagery  of  which  is  drawn  from  the 
northern  seas  and  their  various  aspects.  Their  lyrical  sweetness 
is  not  surpassed  by  anything  in  the  German  language,  except  by 
some  of  Geothe's  songs.  Heine's  prose  style  is  also  regarded  in 
Germany  as  admirable  even  by  those  who  least  admire  the  matter 
of  his  writings.  As  a  proof  of  his  artistical  merit,  I  might  men 
tion  the  pretty  sort  of  echo  of  the  beginning  with  which  the 
Harts-miners  closes." 

Colonel  T.  W.  Higginson  in  his  latest  work  (Part  of  a 
Man's  Life,  Boston,  1905),  speaks  of  Sarah  Austin's  German 
Prose  Writers  as  one  of  the  first  books  which  kindled  his  literary 
enthusiasm.  It  was  together  with  Heine's  work  Die  Roman- 
tische  Schule,  among  the  first  books  which  created  in  America 
the  zeal  for  German  literature. 


12  Fragments  from  German  Prose   Writers,  translated  by  Sarah  Austin, 
with  Biographical  Sketches  of  the  Authors.    New  York,  1841,  p.  220. 


Heine  in  American  Criticism  19 

W.  H.  HURLBUT.13 

Of  all  criticisms  on  Heine  we  have  no  hesitation  in  pro 
nouncing  Hurlbut's  the  unique  and  most  amusing.  That  Hurl- 
but  was  possessed  of  a  fertile  imagination  from  the  inexhaustible 
store  from  which  he  preferred  to  draw  in  sketching  Heine's  life, 
rather  than  go  to  the  trouble  of  investigating,  will  be  obvious. 
That  there  were  rumors  of  Heine's  death  in  1848  is  not  improb 
able;  but  how  can  we  excuse  the  audacity  of  a  man  who  writes 
with  certainty  without  ascertaining  the  real  facts?  The  mourn 
ful  description  of  Heine's  lamentable  death  in  1848  is  too  amus 
ing  to  be  omitted.  If  we  bear  in  mind  that  Heine's  malady  began 
in  1848  and  his  death  occurred  in  1856,  Hurlbut's  sketch  affords 
us  more  amusement.  The  article  begins  with  a  brief  and  clear 
outline  of  the  rise  and  character  of  the  school  known  as  Young 
Germany.  After  connecting  Heine  with  this  school,  Hurlbut 
says:  "In  1830,  he  went  to  Paris,  and  finding  the  extravagance, 
intellectual  and  social,  of  that  fermenting  city  the  atmosphere 
best  suited  to  his  restless  nature,  he  fixed  there  his  abode.  There 
he  continued  to  reside,  occupying  himself  with  his  literary  labors, 
poetical  and  political,  and  enjoying  with  full  zest  the  brilliancy 
and  reckless  gaiety  of  a  circle  in  which  he  held  a  central  place 
till  his  death  in  1848.  The  close  of  his  life  was  darkened  by  great 
physical  sufferings,  and  greater  social  and  spiritual  misery.  He 
was  struck  at  once  with  paralysis  and  with  blindness.  These  de 
privations  shutting  him  out  from  those  material  sources  of  delight 
at  which  he  had  nourished  himself  so  long,  embittered  his  temper 
and  led  him  to  a  neglect  of  the  elegancies  and  amenities  of  life, 
which  soon  drove  away  many  of  his  butterfly  friends.  And 
though  his  genius  and  importance  still  secured  to  him  the  admir 
ation  and  the  sympathy  of  a  few  superior  persons,  he  may  be 
said  to  have  been  withdrawn  from  the  cheerful  light  of  human 
society  and  to  have  died  in  a  very  desolate  and  mournful  con 
dition.  This  brief  account  of  a  career,  uneventful  as  are  the 
lives  of  the  majority  of  literary  men,  comprises  all  that  we  have 


13  North  American  Review,  Vol.  LXIX,  1849,  pp.  216-249. 


2C  Heine  in  American  Criticism 

learned  with  certainty  of  the  outward  biography  of  Heine.  It 
comprises,  too,  we  are  inclined  to  think,  all  that  we  need  know 
of  that  biography.  His  birth,  his  occupation,  his  place  of  resi 
dence,  his  death — these  are  all  the  important  keys  that  his  history 
can  give  us  to  the  outward  character  of  a  man  and  of  his 
works." 

Having  dashed  off  this  biographical  sketch  Hurlbut  now 
turns  his  attention  to  making  a  careful  review  of  Heine's  literary 
activity  in  various  departments  of  literature.  The  most  important 
of  Heine's  works,  that  upon  which  his  fame  must  eventually  rest, 
is,  in  Hurlbut's  opinion,  the  Reisebilder.  He  assigns  it  a  high 
place  among  literary  favorites  of  all  literatures,  and  finds  these 
two  seals  of  genius  stamped  upon  the  greater  part  of  the  Reise 
bilder — entire  independence  of  thought  and  feeling,  and  true 
poetic  power  of  description  and  representation.  The  careless 
audacity,  Hurlbut  declares  to  be  the  very  spirit  of  the  movements 
in  these  travels.  What  he  particularly  regards  as  a  distinctive 
merit  of  the  Reisebilder  is  the  entire  absence  of  cant.  The 
scenes  in  the  Hartzreise  Hurlbut  thinks  are  portrayed  with  ad 
mirable  skill  and  force. 

Of  Heine's  satirical  powers  he  finds  De  I'Allemagne  to  be 
the  finest  exhibition.  But  he  warns  the  general  reader  to  beware 
of  the  Romantische  Schide  if  he  reads  for  information,  and  if 
he  values  his  literary  integrity  and  would  keep  his  mind  free 
from  prejudice.  After  advising  the  reader  to  shun  the  danger 
ous  brilliancy  of  the  Romantische  Schule,  Hurlbut  continues: 
"To  all  serious  persons,  of  whatever  nation,  it  must  remain  only 
an  entertaining  abomination.  We  dismiss  it  with  alacrity  to  its 
proper  circle — the  Inferno  of  literature,  into  which  it  will  as 
suredly  sink.  We  cannot  be  considered  as  unmerciful  in  con 
signing  Atta  Troll,  Deutschland  and  many  other  merely  political 
squibs,  to  the  more  ignoble  quarter  of  that  Elysium  in  which  so 
many  mighty  shades  of  Rome,  France,  and  England  dwell." 

If  the  Romantische  Schule,  Atta  Troll  and  Deutschland  were 
consigned  to  the  realm  of  the  shades  and  oblivion  by  Hurlbut's 
unmerciful  condemnation,  the  Buck  der  Lieder  was  at  least  saved 


Heine  in  American  Criticism  21 

to  posterity  by  him.  In  this  beautiful  collection  he  enjoys  the 
fragrance  of  a  gifted  nature,  the  peaceful  working  of  a  naturally 
clear  and  noble  heart.  The  enjoyment  is  marked  by  a  spirit  of 
skepticism.  In  criticising  the  Buck  der,  Lieder  Hurlbut  says: 
"The  poet  asserts  himself  in  these  masterly  compositions — the 
tenderness,  the  glow,  the  hope  find  expression  in  most  exquisite 
forms.  His  plastic  power  is  remarkable.  Heine  is  unquestion 
ably  the  greatest  artist  among  the  younger  German  poets,  but  to 
compare  him  to  Goethe  is  exaggerated  praise.  We  are  charmed 
by  the  seductive  beauty  and  melody  of  his  verse.  And  when,  in 
some  parts  of  that  extraordinary  poem,  The  North  Sea,  Heine 
really  rises  to  pure  and  lofty  feelings,  to  grand  and  simple 
thoughts,  the  solemnity  and  powers  of  his  measures,  sometimes 
rolling  out  with  the  rhythm  of  the  waves,  reveal  the  intrinsic 
greatness  of  the  poetic  nature  which  was  lost  to  art  and  to  its 
own  true  happiness  in  the  turmoil  of  our  times." 

The  Neue  Gedichte  Hurlbut  declares  to  be  the  saddest,  the 
most  lamentable,  perhaps,  that  ever  proceeded  from  a  man  so 
capable  of  greatness.  Heine's  raillery,  which  he  calls  the  "evil 
spirit,"  here  tramples  down  the  holiest  feelings  and  scoffs  at 
the  most  beautiful  thoughts.  The  fatal  element  in  Heine's  char 
acter  Hurlbut  declares  to  have  been  the  want  of  any  resolute 
adherence  to  a  great  and  noble  purpose.  The  reviewer  objects 
to  calling  Heine  the  German  Byron,  because  they  only  resemble 
each  other  in  artistic  power,  sensualism  and  love  of  the  sea. 
Hurlbut  thus  distinguishes  them:  "The  gay,  reckless,  witty  poli 
tician  is  wholly  different  from  the  magnificent  English  scoffer. 
The  one  was  a  scoffer  among  scoffers,  the  other  a  terrible  scorner 
in  a  day  of  fearful  convulsions  and  wrathful  conflicts.  Their 
very  sensualism  bore  not  the  same  stamp;  with  Heine  it  was 
sentimental,  with  Byron  it  was  passionate." 

Vainly  endeavoring  to  find  a  parallel  for  Heine,  because  he 
thinks  the  comparison  with  Byron  unsatisfactory,  Hurlbut  finally 
lands  upon  an  absurd  solution  of  the  problem  by  suggesting  that 
Heine  might,  with  justice,  be  called  a  nineteenth  century  Wie- 
land. 


22  Heine  in  American  Criticism 

Putnam's  Monthly  Magazine. 

(Vol.  VI,  1855,  pp.  475-48i.) 

HENRY  HEINE. 

The  reviewer  writes  a  letter  from  Oberwesel-on-the-Rhine 
to  a  friend  in  Park  Place.  In  this  letter  he  speaks  of  Heine  as 
the  genius  who  tore  up  the  treaties  of  Vienna,  a  tearful  trifler, 
a  sardonic  sentimentalist  who  laughs  at  old  legends  over  his  wine, 
and  shudders  beneath  the  Lorelei-rocks  in  the  twilight.  The  music 
of  Heine's  melodies,  the  subtle  and  true  rhythm  of  his  genius 
enrapture  the  writer  of  the  letter  when  he  first  hears  the  Lorelei 
in  the  sweet  Rhenish  weather.  In  speaking  of  the  Lorelei  the 
writer  says :  "How  completely  is  Heine's  own  individuality  pre 
served  in  the  half  smile  which  plays  upon  his  lips  as  he  ends  his 
song!  He  seems  to  throw  off  the  brief  mood  of  romance,  and 
turns  on  his  heels  again,  to  skepticism — and  entire  Germany  has 
produced  only  two  poets  beside  Heine,  who  could  have  written 
this  song  of  the  Liirlei,  and  neither  one  of  them  could  thus  have 
concluded  it ;  Uhland  was  too  serious  a  sentimentalist,  Goethe  too 
consummate  an  artist." 

After  briefly  sketching  Heine's  life  and  giving  in  translation 
some  specimens  of  his  poetry,  the  writer  comments  on  the  Reise- 
bilder  as  follows :  "The  Reisebilder  was  almost  as  original  in 
form  as  it  was  fresh  in  substance;  .  .  .  one  is  vaguely  re 
minded  by  it  of  the  Sentimental  Journey.  But  the  reminiscence 
is  so  very  vague !  It  always  reminds  me  much  more  strongly  of 
a  comic  opera.  What  opera  ever  had  an  overture  more  ex 
quisitely  constructed  than  those  songs  of  the  Heimkehr  in  which 
all  the  coming  work  is  so  musically  resumed,  hinted  or  foretold?" 

The  writer  is  delighted  with  the  style  of  the  Reisebilder,  the 
rhythm  of  which  glides  on  in  prose  as  "harmonious  as  the  flow 
of  a  forest  brook,  and  ever  and  anon  is  broken  into  little  melodi 
ous  cascades  of  verse."  He  enjoys  the  grace  and  power  with 
which  Heine  paints  all  manner  of  scenes  and  persons.  Heine's 
description  of  London  he  considers  one  of  the  finest  ever  written 
of  that  indescribable,  inexhaustible  London.  After  dwelling  upon 
and  analyzing  the  exquisite,  limpid  style  of  Heine,  the  reviewer 


Heine  in  American  Criticism  23 

maintains  that  of  the  Germans  only  Lessing  has  approached  and 
Goethe  surpassed  it.  The  art  of  composition  has  declined  in  Ger 
many  since  the  avatar  of  Heine,  but  the  decline  did  not  begin  with 
him. 

Heine  has  been  classed  by  some  critics  with  the  great  humor 
ists.  This  classification  is  obviously  incorrect,  and  the  reviewer 
very  justly  takes  issue  with  these  critics,  and  makes  the  following 
distinction :  "If  to  be  capricious  is  to  be  a  great  humorist,  then 
he  (Heine)  is  one.  But  the  best  quality  of  humor  lies  deep  in 
the  soul,  beneath  the  light  play  of  caprice.  The  style  of  a  great 
humorist,  of  Jean  Paul,  for  instance,  or  Carlyle,  does  not  glitter, 
it  glows.  The  style  of  Heine  is,  in  no  wise,  incandescent,  but 
rather  scintillating.  Compare  Heine's  Sketch  of  Religion  and 
Philosophy  in  Germany  with  Carlyle's  Past  and  Present,  and  you 
will  see  clearly  what  I  mean." 

Having  drawn  this  distinction,  the  writer  speaks  of  Heine's 
remarkable  attainments  in  French  and  gives  some  account  of  Die 
Romantische  Schule,  Der  Salon,  Verrnischte  Schriften,  Ludwig 
Borne,  and  Heine's  last  days.  Pointed,  brilliant,  fanciful,  and 
fascinating  as  is  the  prose  style  of  Heine,  the  writer  thinks  that 
the  most  abiding  charm  of  his  genius  is  to  be  found  in  the  fine 
lyrical  qualities :  "In  his  own  secret  heart,  I  doubt  not  he 
(Heine)  cherished,  most  of  all  his  works,  those  exquisite 
effusions  which  collected  in  half  a  dozen  series  from  the  Lyrical 
Poems,  published  in  1822,  to  the  Romanzero  (the  saddest  and 
poorest  of  them  all)  published  in  1853,  comprise  some  of  the 
truest,  and  sweetest,  and  strongest  lyric  poetry  of  modern  times." 
In  concluding  his  letter,  the  writer  takes  advantage  of  the  oppor 
tunity  to  censure  Gervinus  for  his  unjustifiable  attitude  toward 
Heine  and  says:  "And  though  Gervinus  (respectable  Gervinus) 
has  thought  fit  to  omit  Heine  from  his  very  stupid  history,  as 
long  as  the  German  language  shall  live,  these  songs  will  live,  in 
which  the  German  consonants  have  been  wrought  to  melodies  as 
delicious  as  were  ever  trilled  through  the  vowels  of  Italy." 

In  addition  to  this  criticism  on  Heine's  literary  achieve 
ments,  this  article  also  contains  some  meritorious,  metrical  trans 
lations  of  some  of  Heine's  most  famous  lyrics.  But  of  these  we 


24  Heine  in  American  Criticism 

shall  treat  in  the  section  dealing  with  American  translations  of 
Heine's  works. 

This  sympathetic  and  appreciative  estimate  was  evidently 
written  while  the  writer  was  under  the  spell  of  Heine's  magic, 
and  consequently  he  fails  to  point  out  the  defects  in  Heine's 
works,  on  which  other  critics  are  so  fond  of  dwelling  to  a 
monotonous  extent. 

CHARLES  GODFREY  LELAND. 

As  a  man  of  considerable  talent  and  fame,  a  very  close 
student  of  Heine,  the  opinions  and  views  of  Leland  are  worthy 
of  our  careful  attention  and  respect.  Captivated  with  the  genius 
of  Heine,  he,  nevertheless,  was  conscious  of  the  German's  defects 
and  inconsistencies.  Leland's  criticisms  of  Heine  appeared  as 
prefaces  to  the  various  translations,  the  first  of  which,  the  Reise- 
bilder,  appeared  in  Philadelphia,  in  1855,  with  the  title,  Pictures 
of  Travel.  In  this  preface,  Leland  expresses  the  opinion  that  no 
modern  German  writer  has  exerted  an  influence  comparable  to 
that  of  Heine,  and  that  since  Goethe  no  author  has  penetrated 
so  generally  through  every  class  of  society.  This  universality  of 
popularity  he  considers  the  surest  test  of  the  existence  of  genius. 
Leland  groups  Heine  with  that  great  band  which  numbered  Lu- 
cian,  Rabelais  and  Swift  among  its  members.  The  secret  of 
Heine's  popularity  among  the  Germans,  Leland  finds  to  be  uni 
versality  of  talent,  sincerity  and  weaknesses,  and  the  graceful  art 
of  communicating  to  the  most  uneducated  mind  refined  secrets 
of  art  and  criticism.  Considering  it  worse  than  folly  to  attempt 
to  palliate  Heine's  faults,  Leland  condemns  the  vulgarity  of  many 
passages  in  the  Reisebilder.  That  Heine  was  a  genius,  and  not  a 
clever  imitator  of  genius,  he  thinks,  is  shown  by  his  many  and 
marvellous  prophecies  or  intuitions.  The  fact  that  Heine  can 
only  be  fully  comprehended  as  a  whole,  and  the  more  one  reads 
him,  the  better  he  is  appreciated,  Leland  finds  to  be  only  char 
acteristic  of  great  writers  who  do  not  reproduce  themselves. 

In  the  preface  to  his  translation  of  Heine's  Florentine  Nights 
(London,  1891)  Leland  says:  "It  is  much  to  say  of  a  volu 
minous  writer  in  prose  as  well  as  in  verse,  that  he  has  left  few 


Heine  in  American  Criticism  25 

lines  that  can  be  spared  from  the  literature  of  the  world.  Goethe, 
whom  we  cheerfully  acknowledge  greater  than  Heine,  is  totally 
unable  to  stand  such  a  test  in  his  poetical  works,  even  to  say 
nothing  of  his  prose.  .  .  .  Heine  was  a  poet  by  the  grace 
of  God  and  carried  the  happy  instinct  of  his  verse  into  his  prose. 
As  a  poet  he  was  essentially  a  'Volksdichter.'  He  was  equipped 
with  two  intellectual  gifts,  perfect  lucidity  and  perfect  propor 
tion.  He  was  at  the  same  time  a  most  original  and  accurate 
thinker,  and  possesses  in  the  discussion  of  grave  matters  the  ease 
and  brightness  and  symmetry  which  have  constituted  his  charm 
as  a  lyric  poet." 

Of  much  greater  merit  and  value  as  criticism  than  the  pre 
ceding  is  the  preface  which  Leland  wrote  for  his  translation  of 
De  I'Allemagne  (London,  1892).  After  expressing  his  admir 
ation  of  the  brilliancy  and  fascination  of  the  style  of  this  work, 
Leland  says:  "Such  writers  are  invaluable  as  educators  or 
trainers  of  thought  and  style.  One  cannot  praise  too  highly,  as 
regards  depth  and  value,  the  manner  in  which  he  has  seized,  in 
a  most  independent,  original  manner,  on  the  'leading  names  which 
truly  illustrate  German  thought  since  Luther,  or  the  exquisite 
skill  and  refined  art  with  which  he  has  concisely  and  beautifully 
set  them  forth.  The  wonderful  parallel  which  runs  through  his 
work,  like  a  motive  through  an  opera,  of  the  progress  of  the 
mental  revolution  in  Germany  and  the  political  in  France.  The 
simile  is  grandly  sustained  and  carried  to  a  triumphant  conclu 
sion." 

The  principal  faults  of  the  Romantic  School  and  Religion 
and  Philosophy  in  Germany,  according  to  Leland  are  :  (i)  A 
fair  and  harmonious  idea  of  the  balance  of  any  author  described 
is  not  given  because  the  author  was  manifestly  unable  to  accord 
or  co-ordinate  error  and  merit  in  others.  This  is  the  result  of 
Heine's  love  of  gossip  and  scandal  and  his  boyish  susceptibility 
which  made  him  for  the  moment  altogether  enthusiastic,  either 
with  admiration  or  anger,  at  a  character  or  a  book,  without 
reflecting  on  the  other  side ;  (2)  The  childish  jealousy,  or  merely 
personal  dislike,  which  he  had  not  the  good  sense  to  control  or 
conceal.  Heine  had  not  the  vast  impartiality  of  a  Goethe.  Hence 


26  Heine  in  American  Criticism 

he  neglects  the  real  influence  or  action  of  certain  authors  in  their 
time,  although  he  does  it  well  with  others ;  (3)  He  does  not  give 
intelligently  and  succinctly  the  method  of  any  philosopher,  and  in 
several  cases  this  is  done  so  imperfectly  as  to  almost  induce  the 
suspicion  that  he  had  not  clearly  understood  them.  This  is  cer 
tainly  the  case  as  regards  the  methods  of  Kant,  Fichte  and  Schel- 
ling,  while  as  to  Hegel  he  really  tells  us  nothing  at  all. 

In  conclusion  Leland  says  about  "Germany":  "It  is  an 
eccentric,  though  brilliant  and  genial  mingling  of  metaphysics, 
mockery  and  memoir.  He  did  not  explain  German  metaphysics 
well  or  clearly  to  the  multitude ;  he  simply  made  its  vast  influence 
understood  by  entertaining  and  personal  gossip,  interspersing  so 
much  that  was  vivacious,  original  and  true  with  a  great  deal  that 
was  frivolous  and  sometimes  false,  as  to  produce  the  greatest 
masterpiece  of  melange  known  in  literature." 

Despite  these  shortcomings  of  Heine  as  a  critic  and  inter 
preter,  Leland  thinks  that  in. the  Salon  14  Heine  shows  himself 
absolutely  a  master  in  criticising  pictures,  music,  and  the  stage 
with  marvellous  ability,  carefully  avoiding  technical  terms.  He 
believes  the  Salon  to  be,  as  a  whole,  the  one  which,  of  its  kind, 
combines  more  suggestive  thought,  amusement,  and  information 
than  any  other  with  which  he  is  acquainted.  Very  justly  Leland 
disapproves  of  Heine's  pitiful  and  disagreeable  abuse  of  Raupach 
and  Spontini. 

Pointing  out  as  the  predominant  characteristic  in  which 
Heine  greatly  surpassed  all  writers  of  his  time  that  "he  nothing 
touched  which  he  did  not  adorn,"  Leland,  in  his  preface  to  the 
French  Affairs,1*  calls  attention  to  two  very  eminent  points  in 
this  book.  One  is  the  masterly  manner  in  which  Heine  as  early 
as  1832,  immediately  after  Louis  Phillipe's  succession  to  the 
throne,  pointed  out  clearly  and  accurately  the  causes  which  would 
lead  to  that  monarch's  overthrow.  These  causes  were  bound  up 
with  many  influences  which  are  still  in  vivid  action,  and  which 


"  The  Salon,  translated  from  German  of  Heine  by  C.  G  Leland.  London, 
1893.  Preface. 

"  French  Affairs,  Letters  From  Paris,  translated  from  German  of  Heine 
by  C.  G.  Leland.  London,  1893. 


Heine  in  American  Criticism  27 

no  writer  has  expressed  more  wisely,  more  searchingly  or  more 
succinctly  than  Heine.  Therefore  Leland  thinks  that  the  French 
Affairs  forms  an  admirable  preparation  for  a  study  of  French 
politics  of  the  present  day.  The  reason  why  these  letters  have 
never  received  the  recognition  due  to  their  real  merit,  Leland 
thinks,  is  owing  to  the  heedless  manner  in  which  they  were 
written  and  the  flippant  gossip  introduced  to  catch  the  eye  of  the 
general  reader.  The  second  remarkable  point  in  these  letters  in 
cluding  those  in  "Lutetia"  is  the  fact  that  Heine,  alone,  in  the 
early  thirties  foresaw  very  clearly  the  future  of  Socialism  and  the 
troubles  which  it  was  to  cause. 

Speaking  of  Heine's  incongruities,  Leland  says :  "The  Ger 
mans  call  Jean  Paul  'the  Only  One/  because  he  is  supposed  to  be 
quite  peculiar  in  his  incongruities  or  in  combining  opposite  char 
acteristics.  Yet  I  am  certain  that  in  this  respect  Heine,  and  not 
Jean  Paul,  may  claim  precedence.  There  is  at  least  in  Richter 
a  deep  moral  unity,  and  however  eccentrically  he  piled  up  or 
overwrought  his  intertwined  sentences,  he  never  once  fell  into 
the  vulgar  and  careless  style  of  the  very  worst  of  scribblers  for 
the  press.  But  Heine  exhibits  in  his  intellectual  efforts  such 
startling  contradictions  as  were  never  yet  beheld  in  living  mortal ; 
while  as  regards  style  or  writing,  there  are  in  his  works  hundreds 
of  passages  in  which  literary  art  attains  the  most  exquisite  per 
fection;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  undeniable  that  there  is 
not  a  living  writer  of  the  English  language,  be  he  ever  so 
humble  a  tyro  on  the  obscurest  sheet,  who  would  scrawl,  even  in 
haste,  such  bungling,  reiterative,  and  shallow  sentences  as  may 
be  found  at  times  rather  frequently  in  all  of  Heine's  works,  but 
especially  in  this  (French  Affairs} ." 

Leland's  preface  16  to  his  translation  of  Heine's  Familien- 
leben  is  a  review  of  this  book,  which  he  considers  to  be  the  best 
life  of  Heine  which  had  yet  appeared.  In  prefaces  and  notes  to 
his  translations  Leland  had  laid  great  stress  on  the  extraordinary 
contradictions  which  Heine's  character  presents,  and  which  Le- 


16  The  Family  Life  of  Heine,  edited  by  von  Embden  and  translated  by 
C.  G.  Leland.     London,  1893. 


28  Heine  in  American  Criticism 

'   » 

land  thought  entitled  him  to  be  called  in  preference  to  Jean  Paul, 
"the  Only  One"  (the  unique),  in  literature.  Now  Leland  finds 
that  in  a  complete  abandon  to  Hellenism,  Heine  was  always  con 
sistent.  And  as  a  final,  overwhelming  proof  of  Heine's  bizarre 
nature,  Leland  learns  that  the  professed  roue  was  in  reality  all 
his  life  long  possessed  by  such  an  intense  absorbing  love  -for  his 
mother  and  sister,  and  had  constantly  after  marriage  such  faith 
ful  moral  devotion  to  his  wife,  perhaps  unparalleled  in  literary 
biography. 

GEORGE  RIPLEY. 
Putman's  Monthly  Magazine. 
(VoL  VIII,  1856,  pp.  517-526.) 

Ripley's  paper  on  Heine's  last  days  severely  condemns  his 
character.  It  is  rather  analytical  and  philosophical  in  tone;  but 
it  confines  itself  closely  to  the  data  given  in  Alfred  Meissner's 
Erinnerungen.17  As  an  introduction  to  his  review  of  Meissner's 
little  volume  Ripley  says:  "Heine  was  not  the  man  to  secure  the 
love  or  even  the  esteem  of  general  society.  His  wit  had  too  sharp 
an  edge  to  conciliate  the  favor  of  common  acquaintance.  He 
wielded  it  too  recklessly  to  inspire  confidence  in  his  moral 
integrity.  His  insatiable  love  of  fun,  his  instinctive  sense  of  the 
ludicrous,  and  his  miraculous  command  of  the  vocabulary  of 
humor,  were  combined  with  a  subtle  Mephistophelean  malice,  and 
an  audacious  disregard  of  consequences,  which  were  saved  from 
being  repulsive  only  by  his  brilliant  keenness  of  intellect,  and  the 
original  and  surprising  escapades  of  his  fancy,  which  leave  the 
reader  in  a  state  of  piquant  gratification  and  eager  curiosity  at 
once." 

The  revelations  of  Heine's  remarkable  idiosyncrasies  as  illus 
trated  by  the  incidents  contained  in  Meissner's  book  attracted 
Ripley.  He  considered  Heine  one  of  the  most  illustrious  poets 
Germany  has  produced,  possessing  a  restless  and  yearning  soul 
enclosed  in  a  tender  and  almost  weak  constitution,  and  experienc- 


* Heinrich  Heine's  Erinnerungen,  by  Alfred  Meissner,  1856. 


Heine  in  American  Criticism  29 

ing  both  the  rapture  and  the  wretchedness  of  life,  with  the  exal 
tation  of  enthusiasm.  While  Heine  was  being  consumed  by  con 
troversy  and  ambition,  there  was  another  characteristic,  thinks 
Ripley,  which  tended  to  destroy  his  physical  life:  "He  was  the 
poet  of  love,  and  predestined  to  devote  his  life  to  the  celebration 
of  female  beauty.  He  sang  of  passion  in  all  its  forms,  from 
Platonism  to  the  Witches'  Sabbath.  He  found  expression  for  its 
tenderest  breathings,  as  if  he  possessed  the  heart  of  the  elves; 
and  was  as  familiar  with  its  bolder  display  as  if  he  had  shared 
in  the  feasts  of  the  fauns.  .  .  .  For  Heine  love  was  the 
element  of  life;  no  intoxication  of  the  senses;  no  temporary 
plunge  into  dissoluteness,  but  an  immeasurable  passion,  which 
penetrated  his  whole  being  and  kindled  it  into  an  ardent  and 
beautiful  flame.  .  .  .  His  soul  was  completely  given  to  what 
he  lived.  In  this  passion  whose  music  rang  through  his  nature,  he 
felt  himself  elevated  above  the  discords  of  the  world,  of  society, 
of  political  forms,  and  it  also  took  him  out  of  himself  and  the 
perpetual  dualism  of  his  character.  But  these  flames,  in  which 
he  loved  so  well  to  breathe,  devoured  his  life,  consuming  his  very 
soul." 

Ripley  comments  on  the  difference  in  the  natures  of  Borne 
and  Heine,  calling  Heine  a  child — his  brain  swarming  with  gay 
visions — wild,  unlicensed,  extravagant — a  poet,  a  sybarite,  a 
creature  of  the  world — fond  of  frivolous  society.  Ripley  believes 
that  Heine  could  not  have  been  a  friend  of  moral  earnestness, 
because  he  liked  nothing  so  well  as  an  obstreperous  laugh.  After 
repeating  some  of  the  incidents  given  by  Meissner  illustrative  of 
the  great  wretchedness  and  agony  of  Heine's  last  days,  Ripley 
exclaims:  "Such  was  the  end  of  one  of  the  most  extraordinary 
poets  of  recent  times.  But  whatever  claims  his  poetry  may  assert 
on  the  admiration  of  the  world,  his  personal  character  can  never 
be  arrayed  in  attractive  colors.  But  compared  with  any  true 
ideal  of  humanity,  Heine  was  not  a  man  to  command  approval 
or  love.  This  scoffing  element  in  his  nature  was  predominant 
over  the  suggestions  of  truth.  Devoted  to  the  worship  of  beauty, 
his  life  plan  left  no  place  for  the  pursuit  of  good.  He  seems 
never  to  have  recognized  the  presence  of  the  ethical  principle  in 


30  Heine  in  American  Criticism 

the  constitution  of  man.  The  voice  of  duty  was  never  heard 
amidst  the  seductive  melodies  of  his  song.  He  was  possessed,  like 
many  other  men  of  genius,  with  a  gigantic  selfishness.  Unscrup 
ulous  in  the  exercise  of  his  wit,  he  made  fewer  friends  than  ad 
mirers,  and  his  enemies  were  more  than  either.  No  one  can  say 
that  he  did  not  deserve  his  fate.  His  personality  was  one  from 
which  the  heart  shrinks;  his  life,  though  impassioned,  was  grim 
and  unloving;  his  death  was  lonely,  without  faith  and  without 
hope;  his  genius  will  consecrate  his  memory,  but  can  never  re 
deem  his  character/' 

Meissner,  in  his  Er inner ung en,  paints  Heine's  character  in 
attractive  colors,  but  Ripley  evidently  regarded  his  testimony  as 
insufficient  in  view  of  the  damaging  evidence  presented  by  other 
accounts  of  Heine's  wickedness.  It  is  hardly  fair  to  judge  the 
susceptible  nature  of  Heine  by  such  harsh  Puritanic  standards,  as 
Ripley  was  inclined  to  do,  or  to  endeavor  to  bind  the  impulses 
of  Heine's  wild  and  wayward  genius  by  artificial  rules.  Had 
Ripley  lived  to  read  Heine's  letters  addressed  to  his  mother  and 
sister,  so  inspired  with  passionate  affection,  allied  to  the  most 
delicate  and  unaffected  respect,  he  would  doubtless  been  less 
severe  in  his  condemnation  of  Heine's  character. 

THEODORE  PARKER. 

Profoundly  learned  in  the  German  language,  philosophy  and 
literary  criticism,  Theodore  Parker  saw  the  need,  in  America, 
of  a  new  kind  of  criticism.  It  must  be  like  the  German  in  its 
depth,  philosophy,  all-sidedness  and  geniality.  It  must  have  the 
life,  wit  and  sparkle  of  the  French.  Most  of  the  American  critics 
at  that  time  (1839)  were  somewhat  shallow,  and  they  wrote 
often  of  what  they  understood  but  feebly  and  superficially. 
Parker  did  a  great  deal  towards  exciting  a  desire  for  more 
thorough  critical  ability  among  Americans.  His  papers  on  Ger 
man  literature  and  Strauss  are  among  the  best  on  the  subject 
published  in  American  reviews.  He  wrote  a  critique  of  Menzel's 
History  of  German  Literature  and  criticisms  of  Goethe  and 
Schiller. 

Parker  was  greatly  interested  in  Heine  and  his  works  are 
full  of  references  and  quotations  from  Heine's  poetry  and  criti- 


Heine  in  American  Criticism  31 

cisms.  Of  Parker  as  a  translator  of  Heine's  poetry  we  shall  speak 
later.  As  a  specimen  of  Parker's  acumen  as  a  critic  and  appreci 
ation  of  Heine's  genius  we  will  quote  a  passage  from  a  letter  18 
to  Mrs.  Apthorp  dated  September  21,  1857:  ".  .  .  Heine 
has  a  deal  of  the  Devil  in  him,  mixed  with  a  deal  of  genius.  No 
body  could  write  so  well  as  he — surely  none  since  Goethe;  that 
Hebrew  nature  has  a  world  of  sensuous  and  devotional  emotion 
in  it,  and  immense  power  of  language  also.  But  his  genius  is 
lyric,  not  dramatic,  not  epic;  no  Muse  rises  so  high  as  the 
Hebrew,  but  it  cannot  keep  long  on  the  wing.  The  Psalms  and 
Prophets  of  the  Old  Testament  teach  us  this;  Oriental  sensu- 
ousness  attained  their  finest  expression  in  the  Song  of  Solomon, 
and  in  Heine's  Lieder.  In  the  latter  the  idol  is  veiled  in  thin 
gauze;  in  the  former  it  is  without  the  veil.  Much  in  Heine  I 
hate — much  likewise,  I  admire  and  love.  The  Romanzero  I 
never  like  enough  to  read.  Heine  was  malignant  and  blasphem 
ous." 

JAMES  RUSSEL  LOWELL. 

The  Dancing  Bear.^ 

Far  over  Elf-land  poets  stretch  their  sway, 
And  win  the  dearest  crowns  beyond  the  goal 
Of  their  own  conscious  purpose ;  they  control 
With  gossamer  threads  wide-flown  our  fancy's  play, 
And  so  our  action.     On  my  walk  today, 
A  wallowing  bear,  begged  clumsily  his  toll, 
When  straight  a  vision  rose  of  Atta  Troll, 
And  scenes  ideal  witched  mine  eyes  away. 
"Merci,  Mossieu!"  the  astonished  bearward  cried. 
Grateful  for  thrice  his  hope  to  me,  the  slave 
Of  partial  memory,  seeing  at  his  side 
A  bear  immortal.    The  glad  dole  I  gave 
Was  none  of  mine ;  poor  Heine  o'er  the  wide 
Atlantic  welter  stretched  it  from  his  grave. 


18  Life  and  Correspondence  of  Theodore  Parker,  by  John  Weiss.     New 
York,  1864.    Vol.  i,  p.  306. 

19  Works  of  J.  R.  Lowell.    Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.,  Boston  and  New 
York,  1895.    Vol.  IV,  p.  184. 


32  Heine  in  American  Criticism 

That  Heine  was  a  great  favorite  with  Lowell  we  are  assured 
by  various  sources  of  information,  principally  Mr.  W.  D.  How- 
ells'  My  Literary  Friends  and  Acquaintances  and  My  Literary 
Passions.  When  Mr.  Howells  visited  Lowell  in  1860,  the  con 
versation  at  once  turned  on  Heine,  and  Lowell  expressed  his  ap 
preciation  and  great  admiration  of  Heine's  genius.  Yet  Lowell 
cautioned  Mr.  Howells  to  avoid  imitating  Heine's  cynicism. 

In  his  essay  on  Carlyle,™  speaking  of  Goethe's  and  Richter's 
influence  on  Carlyle,  and  the  fact  that  the  Germans  had  persuaded 
themselves  that  the  essence  of  true  humor  is  formlessness,  Lowell 
says :  "Heine  had  not  yet  shown  that  a  German  might  combine 
the  most  airy  humor  with  a  sense  of  form  as  delicate  as  Goethe's 
own,  and  that  there  was  no  need  to  borrow  the  bow  of  Philoctetes 
for  all  kinds  of  game.  Mr.  Carlyle's  tendency  was  toward  the 
lawless,  and  the  attraction  of  Jean  Paul  made  it  an  overmastering 
one." 

Later,  in  his  admirable  essay  on  Lessing^  Lowell  again 
expresses  his  opinion  of  Heine's  style :  "That  the  general  want 
of  style  in  German  authors  is  not  wholly  the  fault  of  the  language 
is  shown  by  Heine  (a  man  of  mixed  blood)  who  can  be  daintily 
light  in  German." 

And  a  few  pages  further  on  Lowell 22  says :  "Heine  himself, 
the  most  graceful  sometimes,  the  most  touching,  of  modern 
poets,  and  clearly  the  most  easy  of  German  humorists,  seems  to 
me  wanting  in  a  refined  perception  of  that  inward  propriety, 
which  is  only  another  name  for  poetic  proportion,  and  shocks  us 
sometimes  with  an  Unflathigkeit,  as  at  the  end  of  his  Deutsch- 
land,  which,  if  it  makes  Germans  laugh,  as  we  should  be  sorry  to 
believe,  makes  other  people  hold  their  noses.  Such  things  have 
not  been  possible  in  English  since  Swift,  and  the  persifleur  Heine 
cannot  offer  the  same  excuse  of  savage  cynicism  that  might  be 
pleaded  for  the  Irishman." 

The  foregoing  passage  shows  us  that  Lowell  was  conscious 


20  Vol.  II,  p.  90. 
"Vol.  II,  p.  167. 
"Vol.  II,  p.  170. 


Heine  in  American  Criticism  33 

of  the  defects  in  Heine's  style.  Such  instances  of  revolting  vul 
garism  Lowell  very  justly  condemned.  Heine's  mockery  and 
cynicism  also  come  in  for  their  share  of  censure.  In  this  same 
essay  on  Lessing,23  Lowell  remarks:  "To  the  Germans,  with 
their  weak  nerve  of  sentimentalism,  his  (Lessing's)  brave  com 
mon  sense  is  a  far  wholesomer  tonic  than  the  cynicism  of  Heine, 
which  is,  after  all,  only  sentimentalism  soured." 

Lowell's  essay  on  Witchcraft24  contains  among  others  the 
following  reference  to  Heine's  wit  and  wisdom  in  adapting  and 
utilizing  his  materials :  "While  Schiller  was  lamenting  the  Gods 
of  Greece,  some  of  them  were  nearer  neighbors  to  him  than  he 
dreamed;  and  Heine  had  the  wit  to  turn  them  to  delightful  ac 
count,  showing  himself,  perhaps,  the  wiser  of  the  two  in  saving 
what  he  could  from  the  shipwreck  of  the  past  for  present  use  on 
the  prosaic  Juan  Fernandez  of  a  scientific  age,  instead  of  sitting 
down  to  bewail  it." 

The  weakness  of  the  humorist  is  explained  by  Lowell's  care 
ful  analysis  in  his  essay  on  Fielding.25  While  doing  this  Lowell 
says:  "The  weakness  of  the  humorist  is  that  he  can  never  be  quite 
unconscious,  for  in  him  it  seems  as  if  the  two  lobes  of  the  brain 
were  never  in  perfect  unison,  so  that  if  ever  one  of  them  be  on 
the  point  of  surrendering  itself  to  a  fine  frenzy  of  unqualified 
enthusiasm,  the  other  watches  it,  makes  fun  of  it,  renders  it  un 
easy  with  a  vague  sense  of  absurd  incongruity,  till  at  last  it  is 
forced  to  laugh  when  it  had  rather  cry.  Heine  turned  this  to  his 
purpose,  and  this  is  what  makes  him  so  profoundly  and  yet  some 
times  so  unpleasantly  pathetic." 

The  influence  of  the  Spanish  romances  on  the  form  of 
Heine's  verse,  Lowell  says  in  his  notes  26  on  Don  Quixote,  is  un 
mistakable. 

Speaking  of  Thoreau,27  Lowell  says  that  both  Thoreau  and 
Carlyle  represented  the  reaction  and  revolt  against  Philisterei,  a 


23  Vol.  II,  p.  229. 

24  Vol.  II,  p.  327. 

25  Vol.  VI,  p.  56. 

26  Vol.  6,  p.  116. 

27  Vol.  i,  p.  364. 


34  Heine  in  American  Criticism 

renewal  of  the  old  battle  begun  in  modern  times  by  Erasmus  and 
Reuchlin,  and  continued  by  Lessing,  Goethe,  and,  in  a  far  nar 
rower  sense,  by  Heine  in  Germany. 

In  his  essay  on  Winter  28  Lowell  exclaims:  "He  (Winter) 
does  not  touch  those  melancholy  cords  on  which  Autumn  is  as 
great  a  master  as  Heine."  Though  fragmentary,  desultory  and 
scattered,  these  references  to  Heine's  works  give  us  a  fairly  clear 
idea  of  Lowell's  estimate  of  the  importance  of  Heine  in  modern 
European  literature. 

NORTH  AMERICAN  REVIEW. 
(Vol.  98,  1864,  p.  293  ff.) 

The  publication  of  Leland's  translation  of  Heine's  Book  of 
Songs  called  forth  this  critical  notice.  It  begins  with  the  remark 
that  the  triumphant  question  of  the  lively  French  Abbe  "Si  un 
Allemand  pent  etre  bel  esprit"  waited  nearly  two  centuries  to  be 
answered,  and  at  last,  not  by  a  pure  Teuton,  but  by  a  German  Jew. 
Of  Heine  as  a  wit  the  reviewer  says:  "No  wittier  man  than 
Heine  ever  lived,  nor  any  whose  wit  had  more  purpose  in  it. 
Tempered  as  it  was  with  poetic  sentiment,  intensified  by  a  feeling 
half  patriotism  and  half  of  the  race  that  has  no  country,  its  cut 
was  far  deeper  than  that  of  Voltaire.  If  he  often  seems  the  most 
careless  of  persifleurs,  the  real  strength  of  Heine,  as  of  Byron, 
lay  in  the  sad  sincerity  which  was  the  base  of  his  humor."  Be 
cause  Heine  is  a  man  of  Jewish  birth,  the  reviewer  thinks  that 
the  lack  of  "vivida  vis"  of  nationality  in  his  lyrical  poems  may 
well  be  forgiven.  He  considers  Heine's  lyrics  the  most  grace 
ful,  easy  and  pathetic  of  modern  times.  The  cause  of  Heine 
being  a  mocker,  he  thinks,  is  not  because  he  lacks  deep  and  genu 
ine  feeling,  but  because  his  enthusiasm  has  been  disappointed  and 
disillusioned. 

This  is  the  extent  of  the  critical  estimate  of  Heine  given  in 
this  review.  The  remainder  of  the  article  is  devoted  to  an  appre 
ciative  commendation  of  Leland's  success  as  a  translator  of 
Heine's  verse. 


Vol.  3,  p.  259. 


Heine  in  American  Criticism  35 

FREDERIC  H.  HEDGE.29 

Hedge  was  a  very  learned  man  and  a  keen  critic.  Espe 
cially  true  is  this  of  his  scholarly  attainments  in  the  knowledge 
of  German  literature,  and  as  such  his  views  are  of  the  highest 
value.  It  was  not  till  late  in  life  that  he  became  professor  at 
Harvard.  He  had  already  published  his  volume  of  translations 
and  biographical  sketches — Prose  Writers  of  Germany.  In  the 
case  of  Heine,  he  appended  to  his  own  criticism,  the  critique  of 
Matthew  Arnold  (Cornhill's  Magazine,  1863).  "Since  the  Sor 
rows  of  Werther,"  says  Hedge,  "no  book  had  so  profoundly 
stirred  the  German  mind  as  the  Reisebilder.  As  a  writer,  Heine 
takes  rank  with  the  foremost  satirists  of  modern  times.  But  he 
was  more  than  a  satirist,  he  was  a  lyric  poet  of  the  highest  order. 
A  union  unparalleled  in  any  other  writer  before  or  since  of  lyric 
sensibility  with  bitter  sarcasm,  of  the  tenderest  sweetness  with  the 
sharpest  irony,  is  characteristic  of  the  man.  To  say  that  he  is  the 
wittiest  of  German  writers  is  saying  little,  for  German  writers 
are  not  remarkable  for  wit.  We  may  say  without  hesitation  he  is 
one  of  the  wittiest  of  men;  we  may  place  him  by  the  side  of 
Voltaire." 

In  Hours  With  German  Classics?®  Hedge  treats  more  at 
length  of  Heine,  whom  he  considers  unsurpassed  in  the  attribute 
of  wit.  Among  writers  of  all  nations,  Hedge  thinks,  Heine 
stands  pre-eminent  in  the  union  pf  dissimilar  and  antagonistic 
traits — sarcasm  and  genuine  poetic  feeling,  Mephistophelean  and 
lyric  grace,  the  bitterest  and  the  sweetest  in  mental  life.  But 
Heine's  pre-eminent  talent,  Hedge  finds  to  be  wit  of  the  Voltairian 
type:  wit  born  of  cynicism  and  inspired  by  contempt. 

Arnold's  statement  that  Heine  is  the  most  important  suc 
cessor  and  continuator  of  Goethe  as  a  liberator  of  humanity,  is 
regarded  by  Hedge  as  absolutely  false.  To  support  his  objection 
to  Arnold's  view  Hedge  writes:  "To  say  that  a  mocker,  a  persi- 
fleur,  one  whose  favorite  use  of  the  pen  was  to  bespatter  some 


29  Prose  Writers  of  Germany,  by  Frederic  H.  Hedge.  New  Edition,  Phila 
delphia,  1870,  pp.  568-580. 

*°  Hours  With  German  Classics,  by  Frederic  H.  Hedge.  Boston,  1886,  pp. 
502-528. 


36  Heine  in  American  Criticism 

respectability,  from  whom  it  is  so  hard  to  get  a  serious  word  on 
any  subject,  who  seemed  to  look  upon  the  universe  and  life  as  a 
colossal  farce, — to  say  that  such  a  one  has,  of  German  authors 
next  to  Goethe,  contributed  most  to  the  liberation  of  humanity, 
is  to  grievously  mistake  the  forces  and  influences  by  which  human 
nature  is  made  free.  Liberation  comes,  not  by  snarling  at  op 
pressors  or  grimacing  at  society,  but  by  elevating  the  mind  and 
enlarging  the  intellectual  horizon.  This,  Goethe  with  earnest 
effort,  promoting  the  culture  which  alone  makes  free,  spent  his 
life  in  doing.  Only  on  an  earnest,  patient,  reverent  soul  could 
his  mantle  fall.  Heine  was  not  of  that  sort;  when  he  called 
himself  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  liberation  of  humanity,  he  mistook 
the  quarrel  with  existing  institutions  for  real  enlargement  and 
soul  emancipation." 

Of  Heine's  prose  works,  Hedge  considers  the  Reisebilder 
the  best  from  a  literary  point  of  view,  because  it  is  the  freshest, 
the  freest,  the  most  thoroughly  impregnated  with  the  author's 
genius  and  also  stamped  with  his  faults.  The  chief  merits  of 
the  Reisebilder,  according  to  Hedge,  are  flashing  wit,  rollicking 
humor,  eloquence,  pathos  and  piquancy;  and  the  defects,  coarse 
and  bitter  satire,  unjust  criticism,  prejudice  and  egotism.  The 
influence  of  Sterne's  Sentimental  Journey  Hedge  finds  only  in 
the  form  of  the  Reisebilder  but  not  in  the  substance.  Of  Heine's 
lyrical  powers  Hedge  has  this  to  say:  "As  a  lyric  poet  Heine 
must  always  rank  high,  not  only  among  German,  but  among 
all  modern  European  singers.  His  songs  have  that  subtle  inde 
scribable,  inexplicable  charm  which  we  find  in  Goethe,  in  Uhland, 
in  Beranger,  and  in  Burns;  but,  above  all,  in  some  of  Shakes 
peare's  songs.  There  is  in  them  a  spontaneity  which  is  lacking 
in  many  poets  who  far  excel  him  in  other  qualities — in  fire  and 
force — as  Schiller  and  Byron.  There  is  a  touch-and-go  character, 
a  fugitive  grace,  like  the  momentary  fluttering  of  a  humming 
bird  about  a  honeysuckle.  Their  substance  is  of  the  lightest, 
airiest  (I  am  speaking  of  the  songs), — a  fleeting  thought  arrested 
and  crystalized  in  verse;  the  mood  of  the  moment  breathed  in 
numbers,  words  coming  unsought  to  embody  a  sentiment — fall- 


Heine  in  American  Criticism  37 

ing,  as  it  were,  accidentally  into  metrical  cadence  and  just  happen 
ing  to  rhyme:  no  appearance  of  elaboration,  no  suggestion  of 
conscious  effort, — sometimes  a  vexatious  looseness  of  versifica 
tion;  .  .  .  never  were  songs  more  popular  than  Heine's." 

Very  characteristic  of  Heine,  thinks  Hedge,  is  the  blending 
of  sadness  and  jest  in  one  weird  little  poem.  Beneath  Heine's 
cynicism  and  vituperation  there  was  a  latent  love  of  his  father 
land.  This,  and  his  yearning,  unconquerable  affection  for  his 
mother,  Hedge  commends  as  Heine's  redeeming  traits. 

Heine's  essay  on  the  history  of  religion  and  philosophy  in 
Germany,  Hedge  naturally  finds  superficial,  yet  he  ranks  it  in 
merit  next  to  the  Reisebilder.  The  dissertation  on  The  Romantic 
School  is,  in  Hedge's  judgment,  too  much  praised  by  non-German 
readers,  ignorant  of  the  writers  treated,  who  regard  it  as  the 
most  valuable  of  Heine's  productions.  Hedge  denies  that  Heine 
ranks  third  among  the  poets  of  Germany,  because  he  was  no 
"maker";  he  was  "not  a  great  poet,  but  a  marvellous  songster, 
and  beyond  comparison,  Germany's  wittiest  writer, — the  foremost 
satirist  of  his  time." 

LUCY  HAMILTON  HOOPER. 

Lucy  Hooper  is  particularly  noteworthy  as  a  translator  of 
German  verse.  Her  translations  from  Goethe,  Geibel,  Schiller, 
Hebbel  and  Vogl,  display  rare  talent.  Especially  was  she  success 
ful  in  her  rendering  of  Goethe's  inimitable  and  fascinating 
Fisher,  and  The  King  of  Thule.  Why  she  should  have  given  us 
so  many  translations  from  Geibel  and  so  few  from  the  others,  is 
not  apparent.  As  indicative  of  her  estimate  of  Heine  let  us  take 
her  poem  On  a  Portrait  of  Heine:  31 

Behold!  the  limner's  magic  art 
In  few,  yet  wondrous  lines  doth  tell 
How  beautiful,  how  sad,  how  sweet 
The  face  of  him  who  sang  so  well ! 
The  Poet,  not  the  Infidel, 


81 Poems  by  Lucy  Hamilton  Hooper.       Philadelphia,  1871,  p.  62. 


38  Heine  in  American  Criticism 

Looks  from  those  features  calm  and  fair ! 
No  skeptic  sneer  their  beauty  mars, 
For  Death  is  near  and  Thought  is  there. 
Thus  thou  didst  look,  thus  hadst  thou  sung, 
What  immortality  were  thine! 
We  ne'er  had  prayed  then,  "God  forgive, 
And  World  forget,  each  mocking  line!" 
Forgive,  O  God,  forget,  O  World. 
What  blasphemy  he  could  create ! 
Let  but  that  sweet,  sad  face  recall 
How  sweet  his  song,  how  sad  his  fate ! 

KATE  HILLARD.  32 

Although  Kate  Hillard  advances  no  original  views  concern 
ing  Heine,  she,  nevertheless,  gives  us  a  careful  and  lucid  view  of 
all  previous  criticisms.  The  morbidly  discordant  tone  that  often 
haunts  one  in  reading  the  poetry  and  prose  of  Heine  seems  to  her 
to  betray  a  lack  of  health  in  the  writer.  She  complains  that  the 
exquisite  fancy,  the  delicate  grace  of  a  song  is  spoiled  by  the 
laugh  in  the  last  line.  The  strange  distortion  of  this  noble  soul, 
she  believes  to  have  had  its  origin  in  a  subtle  deterioration  of  the 
brain,  commencing  early  and  culminating  in  the  softening  of  the 
spinal  marrow  which  resulted  in  death  after  eight  years  of  in 
tense  suffering. 

Kate  Hillard  finds  much  that  was  similar  in  the  natures  of 
Byron  and  Heine.  Of  the  two,  Heine  appears  to  her  the  simpler 
and  the  sweeter,  because  while  Byron  was  bitter  and  affected, 
Heine  was  more  sincere  in  his  grief  as  well  as  in  his  joy.  The 
worst  trait  in  Heine's  character,  she  believes  to  be  his  savage 
attacks  on  Borne  and  Schlegel.  Her  characterization  of  Heine 
is  interesting  if  not  original:  "Imagine  a  nature  with  all  the 
Hebraic  inheritance  of  pride,  intensity,  and  stubborn  devotion 
to  the  idea,  power  and  sadness  as  of  the  sea;  endow  it  with  Hel 
lenic  susceptibility  to  beauty  and  to  love,  with  ardent  passions 


32  Lippincott's  Magazine,  Vol.  X,  1872,  pp.  187-194. 


Heine  in  American  Criticism  39 

and  tender  sensibilities ;  add  to  these  the  German  dreaminess  and 
quiet  humor,  simplicity  and  tenderness,  through  which  play  swift 
gleams  of  truly  French  wit  and  enthusiasm;  and  then  in  this 
wonderfully  organized  brain,  this  instrument  that  should  be 
capable  of  producing  the  strongest  and  sweetest  of  earthly  har 
monies,  implant  a  fatal  disease  that  gradually  tightens  its  hold 
till  life  itself  is  stifled  in  its  terrible  grasp.  Is  it  any  wonder  that 
some  of  the  strings  jangle?  .  .  .  a  single  thing  is  lacking  in 
his  brilliant  career,  a  healthy  brain." 

Yet  in  spite  of  this  lamentable  situation,  Kate  Hillard  admits 
that  the  good,  the  true  and  the  beautiful  preponderate  in  Heine's 
writings.  In  his  poetic  soul  suffering  and  sorrow  are  transmuted 
into  golden  thoughts  and  precious  fancies.  Heine,  she  thinks, 
rivals  Tennyson  in  the  melodious  charm  of  his  verse.  The  ex 
quisite  grace,  the  dainty  finish,  the  wonderful  imagery  lead  her 
to  call  Heine  pre-eminently  a  poet  of  the  poets.  Noteworthy 
is  her  comparison  of  Goethe  and  Heine:  ''He  (Heine)  has  a  sub 
tle  faculty  of  suggestion  that  seems  to  open  through  the  narrow 
windows  of  his  shortest  poems  wide  vistas  of  thought  and  feel 
ing.  It  is  a  divine  incompleteness  more  attractive  than  the  full- 
arbed  beauty  that  leaves  nothing  more  to  be  desired.  Herein 
lies  the  greatest  difference  between  the  songs  of  Heine  and  of 
Goethe.  The  shortest  verses  of  Goethe  contain  a  fully-rounded 
thought,  complete  and  perfect  from  all  sides.  It  is  finished  and 
there  is  nothing  for  the  most  daring  and  restless  fancy  to  add  or 
alter.  But  Heine  gives  us  in  his  songs  a  sort  of  touch-and-go 
effect  that  is  inexpressibly  charming.  It  is  like  a  bird  that  lights 
on  a  bending  branch,  shakes  out  one  burst  of  melody  and  is  gone 
before  you  fairly  realize  its  presence." 

In  spite  of  all  the  faults  that  stand  out  frankly  on  the  sur 
face  of  Heine's  soul,  she  finds  that  there  is  something  fascinating 
in  his  loving  heart,  his  brilliant  intellect,  sparkling  wit,  his  tender, 
mournful  pathos,  the  wonderful  imagination  of  the  man.  In 
expressibly  touching  is  the  spectacle  of  his  suffering  during  his 
last  days,  and  it  is  no  wonder  that  Kate  Hillard  was  powerfully 
affected  by  it. 


40  Heine,  in  American  Criticism 

S.    A.    STERN.33 

The  biographical  and  critical  introduction  which  Stern 
gives  to  his  Scintillations  from  Heine,  is  based  largely  on 
Strodtmann  and  Arnold,  and  consequently  presents  very  little 
worthy  of  our  serious  consideration.  Mr.  Stern  thinks  that 
Heine's  faults  were  as  patent  as  his  virtues ;  but  that  his  genius 
was  greater  than  either. 

WILLIAM  DEAN  Ho  WELLS.  34 

While  reviewing  Stern's  Scintillations  and  Lord  Houghton's 
monograph  on  Heine,  Mr.  Ho  wells  took  advantage  of  the  oppor 
tunity  to  express  his  admiration  of  his  adored  Heine.  The 
Florentine  Nights,  Mr.  Howells  calls  a  weird,  romantic  mono 
logue  containing  the  wildest  inventions  and  caprices,  and  con 
tinues:  "It  is  incoherent,  changeful,  lawless,  natural,  and  en 
chanting  as  a  dream,  full  of  the  tenderness  and  insult  of  Heine's 
passion,  with  enough  of  his  fine,  coarse  suggestion;  the  slight 
thread  of  narrative  is  dropped  whenever  the  author  likes,  and  his 
fancy  ranges  satirically  to  anything  else  in  the  world, — art, 
politics,  religion  and  the  odiousness  of  England  and  the  English 
people,  the  delight  fulness  of  Paris  .  .  . 

Mr.  Howells  thinks  that  Heine  loses  in  translation  that  soft 
ness  of  outline,  that  play  of  light  and  shadow  which  characterize 
him;  he  becomes  harsh,  sharp  and  sometimes  shabby.  Heine, 
says  Mr.  Howells,  can  best  be  appreciated  by  young  men  not  past 
the  age  of  even  liking  the  faults  of  genius,  whereas  men  in  middle 
life  are  somewhat  wearied,  though  Heine  remains  wonderful. 
Of  Heine's  sentimentalism  Mr.  Howells  says:  "  All  expressions 
of  Heine's  mind  were  tinged  or  interspersed  with  the  same  sort  of 
passionate  sentimentalism,  his  criticism,  satire,  politics,  religion, 
even  his  contempt.  There  was  always  something  creative,  too,  in 
his  writing;  the  poet  in  him  constantly  strove  to  give  objective 


"Scintillations  From  the  Prose   Works  of  Heine,  translated  by  S.  A. 
Stern.     New  York,  1873. 

84  Atlantic  Monthly,  Vol.  32,  1873,  P-  237  f. 


Heine  in  American  Criticism  41 

shape  to  what  he  felt  or  thought,  and  the  process  was  the  same 
whether  he  was  allegorizing  his  youthful  love  of  beauty  or  re 
cording  his  youthful  detestation  of  England." 

To  give  a  general  idea  of  Florentine  Nights,  Mr.  Howells 
calls  it  a  wandering  and  wilful  expression  of  Heine's  mind  upon 
anything  that  comes  into  it.  Charm  is  the  only  unity  he  finds, 
and  at  the  same  time  he  remarks  that  some  passages  of  the 
Florentine  Nights  are  not  to  be  read  aloud  to  young  ladies.  In 
reviewing  Lord  Houghton's  monograph,  Mr.  Howells  recognizes 
the  unmanageableness  of  Heine's  character  and  endeavors  to 
explain  the  enigma  of  his  genius  by  calling  him  a  poetic  humorist. 

Of  Hettner's  History  of  German  Literature,  Mr.  Howells 
writes,  that  it  is  the  only  German  book,  excepting  those  of 
Schopenhauer  and  Heine,  which  is  written  in  a  pleasing,  grace 
ful  style. 

More  valuable  as  criticism  is  Mr.  Howells'  review  35  of  Le- 
land's  translation  of  Heine's  works.  Concerning  Heine's  prose, 
Mr.  Howells  says  that  it  has  the  mood  and  music  of  poetry  and 
sings  and  laughs  and  sighs  and  capers  as  it  goes.  The  newspaper 
letters  from  Paris  to  the  Augsburger  Zeitung,  covering  the  emo 
tions  if  not  the  events  of  two  revolutions,  are  in  Mr.  Howells' 
opinion,  the  most  valuable  and  delightful  record  of  that  period. 
Apropos  of  these  letters  Mr.  Howells  exclaims:  "Heine  is 
always  a  mocking-bird,  of  the  gayest  and  saddest  note  in  the 
world ;  but  it  must  be  allowed  that  he  is  much  more  a  mocking 
bird  when  he  is  not  doing  duty  as  a  carrier-pigeon  for  the  Augs 
burger  Allgemeine  Zeitung,  but  he  is  wildly  tuning  and  tumbling 
in  airy  heights  and  depths  of  his  own  choosing." 

Howells  conceives  of  Heine  as  an  ultimation  of  an  English 
impulse.  The  rise  of  the  suspiratory  and  interjectional  school 
of  highly  poetized  and  highly  personalized  English  prose 
(Sterne's  Sentimental  Journey}  transfused  into  Heine  a  fresh 
inspiration,  a  novel  force,  a  charm  unknown  before.  But 
Sterne's  coquettish,  capricious  pose  was  quickly  transformed 
in  Heine,  whose  attitude  was  no  longer  that  of  the  Englishman. 


Harper's  Magazine,  Vol.  107,  1903,  p.  480  f. 


42  Heine  in  American  Criticism 

Inwardly  Heine  was  not  Sterne  alone,  but  also  Voltaire  and 
Rabelais.  But  more  and  more  Heine's  own  strange  physiog 
nomy  shone  through  till  that  became  all  and  the  contributory 
expressions  nothing.  Once  Heine  became  himself,  he  remained 
an  influence  and  force  destined  to  be  felt  wherever  literary 
art  feels  the  need  of  liberation. 

Interesting  is  Mr.  Howells'  acknowledgment  of  Heine's 
universal  influence:  'What  Heine  does  for  the  reader,  who  is 
also  a  writer,  is  to  help  him  find  his  own  true  nature,  to  teach 
him  that  form  which  is  the  farthest  from  formality;  to  reveal 
to  him  the  secret  of  being  himself.  He  cannot  impart  the  grace, 
the  beauty  in  which  he  abounds,  but  if  his  lover  has  either  in 
him,  Heine  will  discover  it  to  him.  The  delight  of  his  instruction 
will  be  mainly  aesthetic,  but  the  final  meaning  of  his  life  and  work 
is  deeply  and  sadly  ethical." 

Howells  regards  Heine  as  the  arch-mocker,  before  whom 
Aretino  and  Voltaire  must  bow  their  heads.  That  self-mockery 
of  Heine's,  he  says,  is  bewitching,  but  it  is  not  one  of  the  things 
which  Heine  profitably  teaches,  because  it  invokes  everything, 
unfaith  as  well  as  faith.  Heine  had  no  philosophy  of  art,  or 
conduct,  or  politics  that  lasts,  except  freedom.  But  what  will 
be  lasting  in  Heine,  says  Howells,  is  his  literature,  his  poetry, 
which  is  no  more  separable  from  his  prose  than  from  his  verse. 

After  deploring  the  fact  that  Heine  often  misbehaved,  and 
at  times  atrociously  and  infamously,  Howells  concludes:  ''Yet 
with  all  his  offensiveness,  he  could  be  of  an  exquisite  gentleness, 
purity,  and  tenderness.  He  was  not  a  very  good  Jew,  but  he 
asserted  nobly  the  dignity  of  Judaism:  he  was  a  doubtful  Chris 
tian,  but  he  felt  to  the  heart  the  beautif ulness  of  Christ ;  he  was 
a  poor  pattern  of  Protestantism,  yet  he  was  as  far  from  being 
a  Catholic  as  from  being  a  pagan  or  a  Puritan.  For  all  his  sins 
he  paid  with  sufferings  of  such  rarely  exampled  severity  that 
they  might  well  have  persuaded  him  of  a  moral  government  of 
the  world,  if  they  were  not  mere  accidents  befalling  him  while 
worse  sinners  went  free." 


Heine  in  American  Criticism  43 

S.  L.  FLEISHMAN. 

The  biographical  and  critical  sketch  of  Heine  in  Fleish 
man's  Prose  Miscellanies 36  is  valuable  in  many  respects. 
Fleishman  follows  the  account  of  Strodtmann,  the  able  and 
sympathetic  biographer  of  Heine.  In  fact,  the  biographical 
and  anecdotal  portions  of  this  sketch  may  be  considered  as  merely 
a  translation  and  condensation  of  Strodtmann's  Heine's  Leben 
und  Werken.  The  apparent  contradictions  in  Heine's  personal 
character  are  utilized  by  Fleishman  in  explaining  the  surprises, 
paradoxes,  and  startling  anti-climaxes  in  which  his  writings 
abound.  After  acknowledging  that  a  more  witty,  poetic,  and 
enjoyable  style  than  Heine's  cannot  be  found  in  the  literature 
of  any  country,  Fleishman  continues:  "His  love  of  antithesis  is 
one  of  the  marked  features  of  his  style.  He  delights  in  stirring 
the  mind  of  the  reader  with  tragic  emotion,  deep  pathos,  beauti 
ful  and  elevated  thoughts  simply  to  surprise  him  in  the  con 
cluding  line  with  some  terse,  cynical  remark  or  quaint,  humor 
ous  conceit  totally  out  of  harmony,  as  it  would  seem  at  first 
thought,  with  what  had  preceded." 

Many  critics  maintain  that  these  anti-climaxes  mar  some  of 
Heine's  finest  poems,  and  give  the  impression  that  Heine  is 
mocking  both  himself  and  his  readers.  Fleishman  accounts  for 
these  inconsistencies  by  attributing  to  Heine  two  natures  com 
bined  in  one,  where  the  fervid  fancy  and  wild  poetic  enthusiasm 
are  tempered  by  sound,  practical  common  sense.  Heine's  poetry 
has  been  compared  to  a  beautiful  rose  beneath  which  lurks  the 
stinging  thorn.  Concerning  this,  Fleishman  remarks:  "None 
more  than  Heine  appreciated  the  beauty  and  the  fragrance  of  the 
rose,  but  he  knew  also,  that  the  thorn  also  was  there.  His  habit 
of  looking  at  the  two  sides  of  everything — the  bright  and  the 
dark,  the  poetical  and  the  prosaic,  the  strong  voice  and  the 
weak  echo,  the  contrast  between  noble,  exalted,  ideal  aspirations 
and  the  disheartening  shortcomings  in  actual  life, — it  is  this 
that  embitters  the  life  and  writings  of  Heine." 


38  Prose  Miscellanies  From  Heine,  translated  by  S.  L.  Fleishman.     Phil 
adelphia,  1876. 


44  Heine  in  American  Criticism 

Burns,  Byron  and  Heine  are  called  by  Fleishman  the  most 
eminent  modern  poets  of  the  egotistic  or  subjective  school. 
Heine  can  be  as  grand,  romantic,  and  picturesque  as  Byron, 
and  as  simple,  unpretentious  and  quaintly  humorous  as  Burns. 
After  a  comparison  of  the  sea-poems  of  Byron  and  Heine, 
Fleishman  reaches  this  conclusion:  "Heine's  sea-poems  are  as 
majestic  as  Byron's  grand  apostrophes  to  the  ocean.  Both  im 
press  upon  us  the  conception  of  the  immensity  and  grandeur  of 
nature,  but  Heine  by  some  droll  anti-climax  in  the  concluding 
verse  always  wipes  away  this  impression  of  awe.  Byron  is  arti 
ficial.  Heine  is  as  natural,  graceful  and  attractive  as  Burns." 

That  wonderful  collection  of  poems,  The  Romanzero, 
Fleishman  agrees,  is  the  "last,  free  forest-song  of  Romanticism." 
Believing  it  to  be  useless  to  seek  to  palliate  Heine's  faults,  Fleish 
man  exclaims:  "Richly  endowed  by  nature,  he  did  not  always 
use  his  gifts  wisely  or  well.  This  perversion  of  his  talents  will 
always  be  a  blot  on  his  fame ;  his  sin  brings  its  own  punishments. 
Gifted  with  the  most  wonderful  and  versatile  powers — a  clear 
insight  into  men  and  things,  a  vivid  imagination  enabling  him 
to  fill  up  the  gaps  of  history  and  biography,  a  poetic  power  and 
fervor  that  could  clothe  even  the  most  hideous  objects  in  robes 
of  beauty  and  tenderness,  a  wit  that  for  sting  has  not  its  superior 
in  any  literature,  dramatic  and  descriptive  powers  of  the  very 
highest  order, — with  such  qualities  he  could  not  fail  to  acquire 
a  large  circle  of  readers." 

Fleishman  thinks  that  Heine  has  failed  to  win  a  place  in 
the  affection  of  people,  because  he  lacks  moral  character,  hence 
men  seek  in  vain  for  noble  teachings,  for  lofty  and  elevating 
thoughts  free  from  cant  in  Heine's  works.  No  amount  of 
grace,  talent  or  genius,  he  says  will  make  up  for  this  deficiency, 
and  for  his  licentiousness.  The  Nation  in  a  review  of  Fleish 
man's  translation,  Prose  Miscellanies,  speaks  of  the  Romantic 
School,  as  follows:  "It  is  a  late  day  to  call  attention  to  the 
admirable  way  in  which  Heine  wrote  this  chapter  of  literary 
history.  Many  long-winded  German  commentators  and  collec 
tors  of  mouldy  facts  have  toiled  over  the  same  ground,  nearly 
buried  beneath  their  learning,  without  half  the  insight  of  Heine, 


Heine  in  American  Criticism  45 

without  half  of  his  brilliant  gift  of  exposition.  Compare  for 
instance,  Haym's  massive  work  with  these  few  chapters,  and 
it  is  easy  to  see  on  which  side  the  advantage  lies — certainly  not 
with  the  heaviest  battalions.'*  Heine  has  been  accused,  with 
much  justice,  of  indulging  in  harsh  personalities,  notably  in  the 
case  of  the  Schlegels.  Yet  it  is  remarkable,  thinks  Mr.  Fleish 
man,37  that  Heine's  literary  judgments  have  been  substantially 
indorsed  by  posterity.  Fleishman  regards  the  Romantic  School, 
a  review  of  German  literature  by  one  of  the  masters  of  that 
literature,  as  a  classic  of  its  kind. 

The  Suabian  Mirror,  Heine's  caustic  review  of  some  of 
the  minor  poets  of  Germany,  though  written  in  Heine's  most 
characteristic  style,  brilliant,  witty,  Mr.  Fleishman  finds  repre 
hensible  because  it  is  personal  and  written  with  a  decided  spite 
of  malice. 

JUNIUS  HENRY  BROWNE.SS 

This  review  begins  with  the  customary  remark  that  Heine 
was  one  of  the  wittiest  of  men,  and  after  touching  on  his  in 
fluence  and  unquestioned  force  it  calls  attention  to  Heine's  eccen 
tric  character,  antagonisms  and  inconsistencies.  "Much  that 
Heine  did,"  continues  Browne,  "was  intolerable  and  inexcus 
able,  and  yet  his  worst  behavior  was  relieved  by  exceeding 
goodness.  Quotations  from  Heine  are  as  contradictory  as  him 
self.  Their  great  range  and  inconsistency  may  be  illustrated 
by  saying  that  they  would  excuse  and  condemn  every  act,  noble 
and  ignoble,  of  his  checkered  career.  They  were  the  offspring 
of  impulse." 

Very  justly  Mr.  Browne  believes  the  strong  influence  which 
Byron  exerted  on  Heine  to  have  operated  mainly  through  sym 
pathy.  Heine  found  in  Byron  his  own  thoughts  and  feelings 
forcibly  expressed.  Their  temperaments  were  a  good  deal  alike, 
and  consequently,  thinks  Mr.  Browne,  they  often  struck  the  same 
keys  and  produced  the  same  notes.  But  Mr.  Browne  wishes  us 


37  The  Romantic  School,  by  Heinrich  Heine.    Translated  by  S.  L.  Fleish 
man.    New  York,  1882.     Preface. 

"Appleton's  Journal,  Vol.  17,  1877,  pp.  23-31. 


46  Heine  in  American  Criticism 

to  understand  that  there  was  no  imitation  on  the  part  of  Heine ; 
he  was  as  original  as  Byron ;  the  muse  of  both  was  in  their  own 
brain  and  heart. 

Heine  was  accused  by  Longfellow  of  insincerity,  yet  Mr. 
Browne  emphasizes  his  belief  that  Heine  was  absolutely  and 
invincibly  sincere. 

Speaking  of  the  Reisebilder,  Mr.  Browne  says:  "His  work 
was  prose  and  poetry  combined,  embracing  graphic  and  striking 
impressions  of  his  travel  and  his  reflections  thereon,  eloquent, 
charming,  often  pathetic,  but  mingled  with  the  caustic  irony  and 
Jbiting  satire  that  are  inseparable  from  his  writings." 

Heine's  dramas  Almansor  and  Ratcliffe,  having  no  dramatic 
interest  are  pronounced  by  Mr.  Browne  of  mediocre  merit.  Of 
Heine's  retort  to  Platen,  Browne  says:  "It  was  the  quintessence 
of  wormwood,  terrible,  withering,  annihilating.  It  showed  the 
immense  power  of  his  sarcasm,  his  genius  for  stabbing  with 
poisoned  stilettos." 

The  principal  defects  and  blemishes  of  the  Book  of  Songs, 
according  to  Mr.  Browne,  are  its  radicalism,  scoffing  and  skepti 
cal  spirit.  But  he  finds  it  to  be  true  to  life  and  the  treatment 
to  be  almost  faultless:  "It  had  the  perfume  of  true  poetry.  In 
simplicity  and  suggestiveness  the  production  was  Greek.  Be 
hind  an  airy  lightness  was  the  deepest  import;  a  delicate  touch 
undulated  down  to  the  heart  of  nature,  the  sweetness  and  charm, 
grace  and  sensuousness  of  the  verse." 

Comparing  the  lyric  genius  of  Goethe  and  Heine,  Mr. 
Browne  finds  it  difficult  to  decide  to  whom  to  award  the  su 
periority.  As  a  lyric  poet,  Mr.  Browne  feels  sure  that  Heine 
has  never  been  surpassed  by  any  German,  except  Goethe,  if  even 
by  him.  The  prose  style  of  Heine  Mr.  Browne  regards  as  admir 
able,  ranking  above  that  of  Goethe.  This  he  regards  as  a  marvel 
lous  achievement  in  view  of  the  general  carelessness  of  structure 
and  finish  of  German  prose. 

The  Franzosische  Zustande,  Mr.  Browne  finds  to  be  strong 
and  sparkling,  deeply  veined  with  irony  and  abounding  in  pre 
dictions,  some  of  which  were  remarkably  fulfilled. 


Heine  in  American  Criticism  47 

Concerning  the  Romantic  School,  Mr.  Browne  has  this  to 
say:  "It  was  savage  in  its  assaults.  In  it  Heine  laid  about  him 
on  every  side  with  supreme  bitterness  and  deliberate  malice.  Its 
author  was  obviously  bent  on  exhibiting  his  talent  for  abuse, 
at  the  expense  of  truth  of  contemporaneous  authors." 

Heine's  virulent  attack  on  Borne  is  considered  by  Browne 
a  disreputable  achievement  because  all  sense  of  justice  and  de 
cency  was  absorbed  in  his  mania  for  detraction. 

The  New  Poems  are  highly  praised  by  Mr.  Browne;  he 
considers  many  pieces  as  not  suffering  in  comparison  with  those 
of  the  charming  Book  of  Songs. 

After  declaring  Atta  Troll  to  be  a  satire  of  the  highest 
order,  and  some  of  the  final  poems  to  be  wonderfully  weird  and 
shudderingly  beautiful,  Mr.  Browne  concludes  his  critique  by 
predicting  that  Heine  will  be  remembered  by  posterity  as  a  great 
poet  and  not  as  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  liberation  of  humanity. 

JAMES  K.  HosMER.39 

James  K.  Hosmer  was  professor  of  English  and  German 
literature  in  Washington  University,  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  and  in  that 
capacity  he  was  able  to  compare  the  genius  of  Heine  with  illus 
trious  geniuses  of  English  literature.  A  careful  perusal  of  Hos- 
mer's  History  of  German  Literature  shows  us  in  what  high 
esteem  he  held  Heine's  critical  abilities.  The  Romantische 
Schule  was  a  special  favorite  with  him,  and  consequently  he 
quotes  Heine  frequently,  especially  in  treating  of  the  Niebelungen 
Lied,  Luther,  Lessing,  Goethe,  Novalis,  Tieck  and  Jean  Paul. 

In  Heine,  Hosmer  thinks,  the  spirit  of  the  Jewish  race,  so 
intense,  so  persistent,  so  trampled  by  persecution,  has  found 
an  adequate  voice, — a  voice  in  which  there  is  at  times  the  bitter 
ness  and  gall  as  of  the  waters  of  Marah,  poured  out  too  indis 
criminately  upon  the  innocent  as  well  as  upon  those  worthy  of 
scorn. 

Hosmer  quotes  approvingly  Matthew  Arnold's  view  that 
Heine  became  the  first  poet  of  his  time,  the  greatest  name  in 

39  A  Short  History  of  German  Literature,  by  James  K.  Hosmer.     New 
York,  1878.    Revised  Edition,  New  York,  1892,  pp.  497-533. 


48  Heine  in  American  Criticism 

German  literature  since  the  death  of  Goethe.  Of  Heine's  con 
ception  of  love  in  his  early  poems  Hosmer  writes:  "It  is  far 
enough  from  being  the  highest,  and  sometimes  a  bold,  cynical 
defiance  of  propriety  appears,  which  grew  upon  him  as  he  went 
forward." 

The  causes  which  brought  down  upon  Heine  the  fierce  perse 
cutions,  Hosmer  finds  to  be  his  witty,  graphic  prose,  his  noncha 
lant  irreverence,  which  not  infrequently  runs  into  insolence  and 
blasphemy,  his  disregard  of  proprieties,  his  outspoken  scorn 
of  the  powers  that  rule.  About  Heine's  wit  and  sentiment  Hos 
mer  writes:  ''Nothing  was  ever  so  airy  and  volatile  as  his  wit, 
nothing  ever  so  delicate  as  his  sentiment.  There  has  not  lived 
in  our  time  such  a  master  of  brilliant  graphic  description.  The 
Germans  have  been  accused  of  wanting  greatly  in  wit  and 
humor,  but  certain  it  is  that  this  German  Jew  more  than  any 
man  probably  of  the  present  century  in  the  civilized  world  pos 
sessed  these  gifts.  We  must  regard  him  as  a  genius  coordinate 
with  Aristophanes,  Cervantes  and  Montaigne.  His  conversation 
was  full  of  it,  even  when  he  lay  in  the  greatest  misery  on  his 
mattress  grave." 

Hosmer  judges  Heine's  brilliant  wit  with  severity  because 
his  wit  was  often  distorted  to  cynicism;  his  frivolity  to  insolence 
and  vulgarity.  In  art,  patriotism,  religion  or  freedom  he  finds 
Heine  wanting  in  sincerity,  because  he  sometimes  suddenly  inter 
rupts  the  expression  of  intense  emotion  by  a  grotesque  sugges 
tion  which  makes  the  emotion  or  its  object  ridiculous. 

In  comparing  Heine  with  English  writers,  Hosmer  finds 
that  he  has  points  of  resemblance  with  Sterne,  still  more  with 
Byron,  but  that  he  is  more  closely  analogous  in  genius  and  char 
acter  to  Dean  Swift.  Of  Heine's  resemblances  to  Swift,  Hos 
mer  says:  "Such  gall  and  wormwood  as  they  could  pour  upon 
their  adversaries,  what  sinners  elsewhere  have  tasted!  With 
what  whips  of  scorpions  they  smote  folly  and  vice;  but  who 
will  dare  to  say  it  was  through  any  love  of  virtue  ?  Both  libelled 
useful  and  honorable  men  with  coarse  lampoons;  in  both  there 
was  too  frequent  sinking  into  indecency.  Heine  was  not  alto 
gether  a  scoffer." 


Heine  in  American  Criticism  49 

Of  course,  Hosmer  knew  that  Heine  had  also  the  power 
of  touching  the  tenderest  sensibilities.  Hosmer  next  dwells  on  the 
influence  of  Romanticism  and  the  popular  ballad  on  Heine's 
plaintive  songs.  The  air  of  naturalness  and  immediateness  of 
Heine's  poems  he  believes  to  be  owing  to  a  certain  assumed 
negligence  and  consummate  art.  To  illustrate  his  opinion  that 
no  poet  has  ever  been  able  to  convey  more  thoroughly  the  im 
pression  of  perfect  artlessness,  Hosmer  says  of  the  Lorelei:  "The 
words  of  the  Lorelei,  so  simple,  so  infantile  almost  in  sense,  and 
yet  with  which  is  marvellously  bound  such  tender  feeling!  As 
one  repeats  the  lines  they  are  almost  nothing.  Yet  caught  within 
them,  like  some  sad  sweet-throated  nightingale  within  a  net, 
there  pants  such  pathos!  The  child  of  the  Jew,  Heine,  was  of 
the  race  among  the  races  of  the  earth  possessed  of  the  most  in 
tense  passionate  force,  and  in  him  his  people  found  a  voice. 
Now  it  is  a  sound  of  wailing,  melancholy  and  sweet  as  that 
heard  by  the  rivers  of  Babylon  when  the  harps  were  hung  upon 
the  willows, — now  it  is  a  tone  pure  and  lofty  as  the  peal  of  the 
silver  trumpets  before  the  Holy  of  Holies  in  the  temple  service, 
when  the  gems  in  the  high  priest's  breastplate  flashed  with  the 
descending  Deity;  now  a  call  to  strive  for  freedom,  bold  and 
clear  as  the  summons  of  the  Maccabees.  But  think  of  the  cup 
that  has  been  pressed  to  the  Jew's  lips!  The  bitterness  has 
passed  into  his  soul,  and  utters  itself  in  scorn  and  poisoned  mock 
ing.  He  cares  not  what  sanctities  he  insults,  nor  whether  the 
scoff  touches  the  innocent  as  well  as  the  guilty.  Persecution 
has  brought  to  pass  desperation,  which  utters  itself  at  length  in 
infernal  laughter.  May  we  not  see  in  the  statue  of  Venus  of 
Milo  a  type  of  Heine's  genius — so  shorn  of  strength,  so  stained 
and  broken,  yet,  in  the  ruin  of  beauty  and  power,  so  unparalleled  ?'' 

A.    PARKER.40 

This  sketch  by  Parker  indicates  only  in  the  broadest  outlines 
the  scope  and  general  character  of  Heine  and  his  works.  Parker 
pronounces  Heine  one  of  the  most  original  figures  in  all  litera- 

40  Lippincot fs  Magazine,  Vol.  XXVI,  1880,  pp.  604-612. 


50  Heine  in  American  Criticism 

ture,  and  thinks  that  his  genius  never  found  its  highest  ex 
pression,  for,  confined  within  a  narrower  channel  by  not  en 
listing  in  all  the  conflicts  of  his  day  his  genius  would  have  been 
irresistible,  where  now  its  force  is  only  brilliantly  dispersive. 
Of  Heine's  service  to  literature,  Parker  says:  "He  created  a 
prose  style  unequalled  in  clearness  and  brilliancy  by  anything 
previously  known  in  German  literature — Goethe's  prose  is  pon 
derous  in  comparison — and  its  influence  will  be  felt  long  after 
certain  of  its  mannerisms  have  passed  into  oblivion.  His  wit 
is  destined  to  immortality  by  reason  of  the  serious  purpose  that 
underlies  it.  It  has  a  spontaneity  which  no  wit  ever  exercised 
for  its  own  ends  can  ever  have."  Those  who  call  Heine  frivo 
lous  and  mocker,  simply  because  he  can  jest  at  serious  things, 
Parker  thinks  can  only  know  him  very  superficially  or  else 
must  be  ignorant  of  the  real  part  which  humor  has  to  play  in 
the  world.  Heine's  service  in  the  war  of  liberation  of  humanity, 
Parker  declares,  was  his  setting  an  example  of  a  man  who  could 
speak  unflinchingly  for  principles  at  a  time  \vhen  such  utterance 
was  not  easy, — truly  a  great  service  to  posterity. 

M.    D.    CONWAY.41 

Beginning  ostensibly  as  a  review  of  Snodgrass's  Wit,  Wis 
dom  and  Pathos  of  Heine,  with  the  remark  that  there  is  no  page 
of  Heine's  without  its  wit,  wisdom  and  pathos,  Mr.  Conway 
really  aims  in  this  article  to  present  a  study  of  Heine.  The 
secret  of  the  tenderness  felt  by  scholars  and  poets  for  the 
memory  of  Heine,  is  according  to  Mr.  Conway,  the  fact  that 
Heine's  pathos  is  born  of  his  vicarious  sufferings  for  the  hap 
pier  thinkers  of  today,  and  because. with  this  pathos  he  unites 
so  much  wit.  This  is  precisely  Matthew  Arnold's  explanation  of 
the  effectiveness  of  Heine's  writings. 

At  this  point  Mr.  Conway  ventures  on  an  absurd  statement: 
"At  Gottingen  he  (Heine)  had  discovered  that  he  had  no  faith  in 
the  dogmas  of  Judaism,  and  was  baptised  in  the  Lutheran 
Church."  Gross  ignorance  of  the  life  of  Heine  and  the  motives 


The  International  Review,  Vol.  12,  1882,  pp.  425-438. 


Heine  in  American  Criticism  51 

which  prompted  his  abandoning  Judaism  can  only  account  for 
such  mis-statements.  Worse  than  this  is  Mr.  Conway's  assertion 
that  because  Heine  aimed  to  tell  the  truth  about  the  English, 
they  could  never  forgive  him.  As  a  specimen  of  Mr.  Conway's 
insight  let  us  read  the  following  piece  of  clever  criticism:  "He 
(Heine)  was  the  best  European  traveller  and  no  other  work 
equals  the  Pictures  of  Travel,  for  fine  characterization  of  Euro 
pean  communities.  He  also  wrote  poetry  while  he  wandered, 
never  any  that  was  poor:  much  that  was  great."  What  a  brilliant 
characterization!  The  discovery  that  the  first  hero  of  his 
worship  (Don  Quixote)  was  only  an  effigy  made  up  to  be 
laughed  at,  had  a  lasting  influence  on  Heine,  thinks  Mr.  Con- 
way,  and  caused  him  to  become  a  mocker.  After  exalting  the 
mind  to  some  exquisite  vision  of  beauty  or  character,  Heine  too 
often  shatters  it  all  by  a  mocking  line,  complains  Conway,  and 
he  thinks  this  laughter  is  really  the  sigh  of  a  soul  in  pain,  unable 
to  find  a  true  satisfaction. 

For  subtle  suggestiveness  and  beautiful  imagery,  Conway 
thinks  that  Heine's  art  as  a  writer  has  never  been  exceeded  even 
by  Goethe.  Conway  here  mentions  a  passage  in  Heine's  Floren 
tine  Nights,  which  he  believes  has  not  its  equal  in  Goethe's 
Italian  letters. 

The  truest  vision  of  Heine,  he  finds  to  be  that  of  the  re 
fined  artist  kneeling  to  the  last  before  the  perfect  ideal  of 
humanity,  Venus  of  Milo — armless  though  it  be — not  able  to  be 
stow  bounties  like  a  Madonna  or  other  conventional  idol  of  the 
world. 

A.  LANGEL.42 

The  occasion  of  this  article  was  the  appearance  of  the 
fragment  of  Heine's  Memoirs,  of  which  the  critics  had  spoken 
lightly.  Langel  was  very  much  charmed  by  them;  he  admires 
their  pregnant  brevity.  In  the  story  of  the  childish  and  un 
conscious  love  of  Heine  for  Sefchen,  the  daughter  of  the  execu 
tioner,  he  finds  the  genius  of  Heine  in  the  embryonic  state,  with 


41  The  Nation,  Vol.  39,  1884,  p.  89. 


52  Heine  in  American  Criticism 

all  its  wonderful  qualities  and  also  with  its  defects.  Heine, 
Langel  maintains,  was  all  Heine  at  the  age  of  twenty-five  and 
life  added  not  much  to  him;  his  source  of  inspiration  was  only 
renewed  when  the  approach  of  death  began  to  be  felt.  After 
reviewing  the  criticisms  of  Montegut,  Langel  comes  to  the  con 
clusion  that  when  Heine  wrote  in  1816  his  Two  Grenadiers, 
he  was  already  the  great  lyric  poet  whom  the  world  has  since 
admired. 

WILLIAM  R.   TnAYER.43 

Reviewing  Weill's  volume  of  Souvenirs  Intimes,  of  Heine, 
Thayer  remarks  that  close  inspection  of  Heine's  private  life 
diminishes  whatever  personal  esteem  his  works  may  have  gained 
for  him.  He  dislikes  Heine's  bitterness  and  mockery  and  finds 
him  devoid  of  genuine  sincerity  and  almost  bereft  of  moral 
sense,  and  says:  "His  (Heine's)  writings,  in  the  long  run,  are 
as  unwholesome  as  a  diet  of  pickles  would  be." 

EMMA  LAZARUS.44 

The  Venus  of  the  Louvre. 

Down  the  long  hall  she  glistens  like  a  star, 

The  foam-born  mother  of  love,  transfixed  to  stone, 

Yet  none  the  less  immortal,  breathing  on, 

Time's  brutal  hand  hath  maimed,  but  could  not  mar, 

When  first  the  enthralled  enchantress  from  afar 

Dazzled  mine  eyes,  I  saw  not  her  alone 

Serenely  poised  on  her  world- worshipped  throne, 

As  when  she  guided  once  her  dove-drawn  car, — 

But  at  her  feet  a  pale  death-stricken  Jew, 

Her  life  adorer,  sobbed  farewell  to  love. 

Here  Heine  wept !    Here  still  he  weeps  anew, 

Nor  ever  shall  his  shadow  lift  or  move 

While  mourns  one  ardent  heart,  and  poet  brain, 

For  vanished  Hellas  and  Hebraic  pain. 


43  Lip pine ott's  Magazine,  Vol.  33,  1884,  pp.  409-413. 

44  The  Century  Magazine,  Vol.  VII,  1884,  pp.  210-217. 


Heine  in  American  Criticism  53 

The  secret  cause  of  Heine's  unhappiness  and  moral  and 
intellectual  inconsistencies  Emma  Lazarus  finds  to  be  a  fatal  and 
irreconcilable  dualism,  forming  the  basis  of  his  nature — Heine, 
a  Jew  with  the  mind  and  eyes  of  a  Greek.  In  setting  forth  this 
view  she  writes:  "In  Heine,  the  Jew,  there  is  a  depth  of  human 
sympathy,  a  mystic  warmth  and  glow  of  the  imagination,  a 
pathos,  an  enthusiasm,  an  indomitable  resistance  to  every  species 
of  bondage,  totally  at  variance  with  the  qualities  of  Heine  the 
Greek.  On  the  other  hand  the  Greek  Heine  is  a  creature  of 
laughter  and  sunshine,  possessing  an  intellectual  clearness  of 
vision,  a  plastic  grace,  a  pure  and  healthy  love  of  art  for  art's 
own  sake,  with  which  the  sombre  Hebrew  was  in  perpetual 
conflict. 

"What  could  be  the  result  of  imprisoning  two  such  antagonis 
tic  natures  in  a  single  body?  What  but  the  contradictions,  the 
struggles,  the  tears,  the  violence,  that  actually  ensued?  For 
Heine  had  pre-eminently  the  artist  capacity  of  playing  the  spec 
tator  to  the  workings  of  his  own  mind,  and  his  mordant  sarcasm 
and  merciless  wit  were  but  the  expression  of  his  own  sense 
of  the  internal  incongruity.  .  .  .  Today  his  muse  is  the 
beautiful  Herodias,  the  dove-eyed  Shulamite,  tomorrow  it  will 
be  Venus  Anadyomene,  the  genius  of  blooming  Hellas."  From 
this  inherent  self-contradiction,  Emma  Lazarus  thinks,  sprang 
Heine's  alternations  of  enthusiasm  and  cynicism,  of  generosity 
and  egotism,  his  infidelities,  his  laughter  and  his  tears. 

As  a  critic,  she  finds  that  his  literary  opinions  were  fre 
quently  extravagant  and  partial.  Speaking  of  Heine's  marvel 
lous  command  of  language  she  says:  "For  him  human  language 
seems  to  lose  its  inadequacy  and  intangibility,  for  him  the  German 
tongue  lays  aside  its  harshness  and  unwieldiness  to  become  the 
most  pliant  musical  medium  of  lyrical  utterance." 

To  find  a  parallel  for  the  magnificent  imagery  and  voluptu 
ous  orientalism  of  the  Intermezzo,  Emma  Lazarus  deems  it 
necessary  to  go  back  to  the  Hebrew  poets  of  Palestine  and  Spain. 
In  Ratcliffe  she  fails  to  find  a  trace  of  the  poet  of  the  Intermezzo, 
and  Almansor  she  considers  an  improvement  on  Ratcliffe. 


54  Heine  in  American  Criticism 

Nevertheless,  as  a  tragedy,  she  thinks  Almansor  is  a  complete 
failure,  lacking  the  essential  elements, — interest,  action,  and 
character. 

The  detached  cosmopolitanism  of  Goethe,  she  considers  cold 
when  compared  with  the  ringing,  burning  words  of  Heine's  The 
Spinners. 

The  rich  and  spicy  aroma,  the  glowing  color,  the  flavor  of 
the  Orient  so  characteristic  of  Heine  in  the  Intermesso,  Emma 
Lazarus  finds  in  the  poetry  of  the  mediaeval  Spanish  Jews  and 
consequently  she  regards  the  Intermezzo  as  a  well-sustained 
continuation  of  the  Divan  and  Gazelles  of  Judah  Halevi,  or  the 
thinly  veiled  sensuousness  of  Alcharisi  and  Ibn  Ezra.  With 
respect  to  this  influence  she  says:  "Heine  is  too  sincere  a  poet 
to  be  accused  of  plagiarism,  but  there  can  be  no  doubt  that,  im 
bued  as  he  was  with  the  spirit  of  his  race,  revering  so  deeply 
their  seldom  studied  poetic  legacy,  he  at  times  unwittingly  re 
peated  the  notes  which  rang  so  sweetly  in  his  ears.  What  the 
world  thought  distinctly  characteristic  of  Heine  was  often  simply 
a  mode  of  expression  peculiar  to  his  people."  To  illustrate  her 
meaning  she  quotes  a  few  lines  from  Judah  Halevi  and  calls 
attention  to  the  fact  that  Heine  had  celebrated  his  great  prede 
cessor  in. the  poem  entitled  Judah  Halevi,  and  that  its  passion 
ate  lamentation  for  Jerusalem  has  the  very  ring  of  Halevi.  De 
spite  the  magical  fascination  of  Heine's  style,  she  dislikes  the 
morbid,  lachrymose  sentimentality  and  the  occasional  flippancy 
and  vulgarity,  and  this  she  thinks  "precludes  Heine  from  wear 
ing  the  crown  of  those  poets  whose  high  prerogative  it  is  to 
console,  to  uplift,  to  lead  humanity."  Physically,  mentally  and 
morally,  Emma  Lazarus  maintains,  Heine  lacked  health. 

F.  MARION  CRAWFORD. 

Highly  commendable  is  the  accurate  and  delightful  char 
acterization  of  Heine  given  by  Mr.  Crawford  in  his  book  en 
titled,  With  the  Immortals.45  Here  Heine,  made  visible  by  Mr. 
Chard's  experiments,  speaks  in  his  own  person.  In  Chapter  IV 


With  the  Immortals,  by  F.  Marion  Crawford.     London,  1888. 


Heine  in  American  Criticism  55 

we  have  a  good  description  of  Heine's  wonderful  and  sarcastic 
face.  Mr.  Crawford  represents  Heine  in  conversation  as  re 
gretting  his  bitter-sweet  emotions.  He  conceives  of  Heine  as 
made  up  of  contradictions,  always  out  of  harmony  with  his 
surroundings  and  in  perpetual  exile;  in  Germany  a  Frenchman, 
in  France  a  German ;  among  Jews  a  Christian,  among  Christians 
a  Jew,  with  Catholics  a  Protestant,  with  Protestants  a  Catholic. 

The  magic  of  Heine's  style  is  carefully  analyzed  and  the 
effectiveness  is  illustrated,  together  with  its  weakness  by  having 
Heine  tell  a  terribly  sad  story  of  an  old  beggar  dying  in  a  snow 
storm;  the  sympathy  of  the  audience  is  aroused,  then  suddenly 
Heine  introduces  a  facetious  remark,  wiping  away  the  effect. 
Gwendolene,  Mr.  Chard's  wife,  said:  "I  wish  you  would  not 
talk  in  that  light  way,  after  what  you  have  been  telling  us  so 
earnestly."  Heine  answered:  "I  cannot  help  it,  madam,  I  have 
a  particular  talent  for  being  easily  moved ;  and  when  I  am  moved 
I  shed  tears,  and  when  I  shed  tears  it  seems  very  foolish  and 
I  at  once  try  to  laugh  at  myself — or  at  the  first  convenient  object 
which  falls  in  my  way.  For  tears  hurt — bitterly  sometimes,  and 
it  is  best  to  get  rid  of  them  in  any  way  one  can,  provided  one 
does  not  put  them  beyond  one's  reach  altogether."  When  Heine 
has  explained  to  Mr.  Chard  how  pain  can  be  sweet,  he  is  brought 
together  with  such  illustrious  men  as  Chopin,  Caesar  and  Dr. 
Samuel  Johnson,  and,  of  course,  brilliant,  witty  discussions 
follow. 

Crawford  has  made  a  careful  study  of  Heine  and  endeavors 
in  this  book,  With  the  Immortals,  to  present  the  real  portrait 
of  Heine.  At  times  Mr.  Crawford  succeeds  in  making  Heine 
witty,  ironical  and  sarcastic  as  in  real  life.  He  has  been  also 
tolerably  successful  in  reproducing  Heine's  anti-climaxes  and 
subtleties  of  thought.  To  ascertain  in  what  esteem  Mr.  Craw 
ford  holds  Heine  we  need  only  reflect  that  he  has  made  him  the 
leading  figure  among  the  immortals  of  this  book.  But  Mr.  Craw 
ford  realizes  that  Heine's  immortality  is  owing  to  his  attain 
ments  as  a  lyric  poet  and  wit  and  not  as  a  soldier  in  the  war  of 
liberation  of  humanity. 


56  Heine  in  American  Criticism 

W.    S.    SlMONDS.46 

The  forces  that  ruled  Heine  in  his  brilliant  and  stressful 
career,  Mr.  Simonds  maintains  are  a  passion  for. the  beautiful, 
for  the  pleasure  in  life  and  for  freedom.  On  almost  everything 
Heine  wrote,  Mr.  Simonds  finds  the  stamp  of  genius,  and  some 
times  that  subtle  burst  of  laughter.  Arnold's  view  that  Heine's 
warfare  was  waged  on  Philistinism  exclusively,  Mr.  Simonds 
thinks  is  too  narrow.  Yet  he  insists  that  Heine  will  be  remem 
bered  only  for  his  Book  of  Songs  and  the  Romanzero.  The 
vague  restlessness  that  sometimes  turns  to  mocking  laughter  so 
almost  like  despair,  Mr.  Simonds  explains  as  the  cry  of  that 
wandering  spirit  searching  for  happiness,  for  beauty,  and  finding 
only  dust  and  ashes  where  it  sought  its  lost  ideal. 

HJALMAR  HYORTH  BovESEN.47 

In  his  essay  on  Carmen  Sylva,  Mr.  Boyesen  in  speaking 
of  the  lyric  poet  as  necessarily  a  tuneful  egoist  who  mirrors 
his  soul's  physiognomy  in  his  song,  writes  as  follows:  "Goethe, 
the  greatest  lyric  genius  of  the  century,  set  his  own  heart  to 
music,  and  Heine,  who  follows  close  behind  him,  drew  no  less 
freely  upon  his  emotional  experience." 

Die  Romantische  Schule  is  a  great  favorite  with  Mr.  Boyesen 
as  with  all  American  writers  on  Romanticism,  and  he  quotes 
Heine  quite  frequently,  notably  in  the  characterization  of  Lessing, 
Novalis  and  Tieck.  On  page  285  of  his  Essays  on  German  Litera 
ture,  Boyesen  says:  "Heine's  essay  on  Romanticism  is  a  most 
fascinating  book,  which  is  equally  remarkable  for  its  epigram 
matic  brilliancy,  its  striking  originality,  and  its  utter  injustice 
and  unreliability." 

In  commenting  on  Heine's  criticism  of  Tieck's  Marchen. 
Boyesen  writes:  "This  is  not  criticism,  but  it  is  better  than 
criticism:  it  is  not  negatively  analytical,  but  conveys  by  a  certain 
happy  choice  of  adjectives  some  of  the  more  positive  qualities 
of  the  poet  (Tieck)  and  indeed  those  very  qualities  which  are 
surest  to  escape  analysis." 

49  The  Dial   (Chicago),  Vol.  12,  1892,  pp.  213-215. 

47  Essays  on  German  Literature,  by  H.  H.  Boyesen.    New  York,  1892. 


Heine  in  American  Criticism  57 

CHARLES  DE  KAY.48 

Mr.  De  Kay  regards  Heine  not  only  as  a  literary  star  of  the 
first  brightness,  but  as  a  Captain  in  the  battle  America  has  been 
fighting.  Heine's  wit  reminds  him  of  Rabelais  rather  than 
of  Sterne.  It  was  the  peculiar  quality  of  the  Weltschmerz, 
thinks  Mr.  De  Kay,  that  rose  from  Heine's  verse  and  prose, 
sweet  but  with  a  suggestion  of  death  that  characterizes  Heine 
and  makes  him  relished  by  thousands. 

B.    W.    WELLS.49 

Considerable  space  is  devoted  to  a  sympathetic  study  of 
Heine  by  Mr.  Wells,  in  his  Modern  German  Literature,  because 
he  regards  him  as  the  only  writer  of  primary  importance  since 
Goethe's  death.  Mr.  Wells  finds  two  characteristics  that  con 
nect  Heine  with  the  Romanticists,  his  irony  and  his  national 
democratic  protest.  This  irony  he  thinks,  sprang  from  the  in 
compatibility  of  two  elements  in  Heine's  nature, — the  Hellenic 
joy  of  life  such  as  inspired  Goethe's  Roman  Elegies  and  the 
Hebrew  earnestness  nursed  by  the  study  of  Hegel.  Of  these 
two  elements  Mr.  Wells  writes:  "Each  seemed  by  turns  to 
show  him  the  emptiness  of  the  other.  He  never  succeeded  in 
establishing  a  harmony  between  these  antinomies  of  his  character. 
Hence  came  a  mocking  spirit  to  which  very  little  was  sacred,  and 
which  Heine  possessed  in  a  higher  degree  than  any  writer  of  the 
century." 

The  Intermezzo,  Mr.  Wells  maintains,  marks  an  advance  in 
form,  on  the  earlier  poems,  but  ethically  it  showed  increasing 
bitterness,  sinking  sometimes  to  vituperation,  and  a  reckless  bold 
ness  that  rose  at  times  to  sensuality.  Yet  he  admits  that  some 
of  Heine's  most  perfect  lyrics  are  to  be  found  in  it. 

Heine  learned  to  know  and  love  the  sea  as  no  other  German 
poet  has  done.  Concerning  the  poems  grouped  under  the  title, 

48  The  Family  Life  of  Heine,  by  von  Embden.    Translated  by  Charles  De 
Kay.     New  York,  1893.     Preface  to  English  translation. 

49  Modern   German   Literature,   by    Benjamin    W.    Wells.     Boston,    1805, 
pp.  324-364- 


58  Heine  in  American  Criticism 

Heimkehr,  with  the  later  "Nord-See"  cycle,  Mr.  Wells  says 
that  they  are  the  finest  verses  of  the  sea  that  Germany  has  ever 
produced  and  will  bear  comparison  with  the  best  work  of  Byron 
and  Shelley  in  this  field.  Of  the  Reisebilder  (Harzreise*),  Mr. 
Wells  writes:  "None  resisted  the  charm  of  this  imperishable 
monument  of  satiric  wit ;  it  was  something  new  in  German  litera 
ture.  Such  light,  easy,  sparkling  prose,  such  graceful,  daring, 
bubbling  wit,  had  not  yet  been  seen  in  Germany,  and  were  to  re 
main  an  unattained  model  for  the  imitation  of  following  genera 
tions.  Heine  has  never  been  equaled  in  this  field  save  by  himself, 
and  he  has  not  always  maintained  the  level  of  the  Harzreise. 

Despite  the  capricious  disorder  of  the  Buck  le  Grand,  Mr. 
Wells  finds  in  it  a  life  that  defies  criticism,  graceful,  grotesque, 
cynical,  naive,  with  a  vigor,  a  brilliancy,  a  keenness  of  scorn, 
and  a  fire  of  enthusiasm.  That  the  poems  of  the  Romanzero, 
so  tender,  so  melodious,  so  exquisite  in  form  and  fancy  should 
be  the  product  of  the  sleepless  nights  of  a  bed-ridden  sufferer, 
seems  to  Mr.  Wells  to  be  almost  beyond  belief.  Seeing  in  Heine 
the  skeptical  representative  of  a  time  of  ferment  and  the  one  who 
transferred  to  a  political  and  social  field  the  activity  of  Goethe 
in  a  literary  sphere,  Mr.  Wells  concludes  as  follows :  "He  (Heine) 
is  the  wittiest,  clearest,  keenest  satirist,  the  most  delicate  and 
graceful  writer  of  songs  in  Germany.  .  .  .  Less  positive 
than  Goethe,  he  has  not  the  peculiar  quality  that  makes  a  classic 
for  all  ages  and  peoples,  and  yet,  as  Matthew  Arnold  says,  he  is 
"incomparably  the  most  important  figure  of  that  quarter  of  a 
century  that  follows  the  death  of  Goethe." 

FRANK  E.  SAWYER.50 

This  musical  critic  possesses  also  considerable  poetic  talent. 
As  a  lover  of  music  he  is  naturally  a  lover  of  the  Musicians' 
Poets  and  particularly  Heine,  whose  influence  on  Sawyer's  poetry 
is  unmistakable.  In  his  Notes  and  Half  Notes,  Sawyer  has  the 
following  sonnet  on  Heinrich  Heine,  Shubert's  poet: 


Notes  and  Half  Notes,  by  Frank  E.  Sawyer.    New  York,  1896,  p.  90. 


Heine  in  American  Criticism  59 

More  than  all  other  poets,  it  is  thou, 

Heine,  to  whom  the  world's  musicians  kneel. 

Thou  know'st  so  well  all  that  tried  spirits  feel 

Who  never  to  a  man-made  law  will  bow ! 

Thou  see'st  us  men  with  thorn  encircled  brow, 

Who,  outcast  from  our  kind,  to  God  appeal. 

But  God  is  sphinx-like;  then  our  hearts  we  steel, 

And  drain  life's  wine  cups,  knowing  all  is  now! 

Yet  e'en  when  flashing  forth  they  falchion  bare, 

Thou  droppest  song-pearls,  which  the  musician  strings 

Into  a  necklace  for  his  lady  fair: 

Pearls  with  the  argent  gleam  of  angel  wings 

Which  surely  they  have  caught,  sometime,  somewhere, 

When  thou  wast  soaring  for  God's  hidden  things. 

WILLIAM    STEIN  WAY.51 

In  this  article  Mr.  Steinway  first  gives  an  indication  of  the 
representations  and  arguments  by  which  the  authorities  of 
Diisseldorf  and  Mayence  justified  their  refusal  of  a  monument  to 
Heine.  Then  he  states,  refutes  and  ridicules  the  New  York 
press  objections  to  a  Heine  monument  in  New  York  on  the 
ground  that  Heine  could  not  be  credited  with  the  overwhelm 
ing  genius  which  compels  recognition.  In  the  course  of  his  re 
marks  Mr.  Steinway  says:  "Thus,  on  grounds  of  pure  prejudice, 
Heinrich  Heine,  incomparably  the  most  popular  of  all  German 
poets,  not  excepting  Goethe  or  any  other;  ranking,  by  universal 
recognition,  with  the  very  first  men  of  genius  of  all  the  world's 
ages:  whose  creations  have  entered  more  largely  and  lastingly 
into  the  domain  of  music  than  those  of  any  other  writer,  had 
been  formally  pronounced  unworthy  of  monumental  honors  in  the 
land  of  his  birth.  There  are  innumerable  generations  still  to 
come  which  will  give  the  world  none  who  can  excel  the  lyrics 
of  Heine." 

MARION  M.  MiLLER.52 

Recognizing  in  Heine  a  brilliant,  original  spirit  and  creative 
genius,  Mr.  Miller  begins  his  review  of  Ellis's  translation  of 
Heine's  Prose  Writings  (Camelot  Series).  Mr.  Miller  classes 

61  The  Forum,  Vol.  20,  1896,  p.  746  f . 

Ba  Bachelor  of  Arts,  Vol.  II,  1896,  p.  778  f . 


60  Heine  in  American  Criticism 

Heine  as  belonging  to  the  ancient  Greek  cult  of  Adonis- 
worshippers,  those  who  mourned  with  Bion  and  Moschus  the 
loveliness  of  Life  in  Death.  As  a  humorist,  he  thinks,  Heine  is 
inferior  to  Artemus  Ward  in  so  far  as  personal  satire  is  beneath 
a  humor  of  ever  glowing  geniality,  but  Heine's  cosmopolitanism 
makes  him  the  typical  humorist  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

In  analyzing  Heine's  humor  Mr.  Miller  continues  as  follows: 
"The  epigrammatic  form  in  which  his  humor  is  often  cast  is 
typically  French;  the  humanity  exhibited  by  his  half-comic,  half- 
pathetic  characters,  thoroughly  English;  and  the  broad  ethical 
purpose  of  the  whole,  even  when  commingled  with  the  fiercest 
satire,  as  universal  and  exalted  as  the  prophetic  cry  of  Elijah 
among  the  priests  of  Baal  or  of  Carlyle  against  the  modern  shrine 
of  Mammon."  The  union  of  all  that  is  intellectual  and  emotional 
and  ethical  in  modern  humor  is  found  by  the  reviewer  in  the 
Reisebilder. 

Mr.  Miller  calls  the  Romantic  School  and  Religion  and 
Philosophy  in  Germany,  magnificent  criticism,  and  much  needed 
models  for  modern  reviewers,  combining  as  they  do,  exposition 
that  is  not  pedantic,  and  comment  that  does  not  rely  on  paradox 
alone  for  its  raison  d'etre. 

In  conclusion  Mr.  Miller  calls  attention  to  the  great  influence 
of  Heine  in  the  sphere  of  social  reform,  and  asserts  that  Heine 
is  esteemed  by  Socialists  as  the  poet  of  revolt  against  established 
social  institutions. 

KUNO  FRANCKE.53 

Professor  Francke  does  not  sympathize  with  the  violent 
declamations  of  contemporary  Anti-Semitism  against  the  so- 
called  inroad  of  Judaism  into  German  culture.  Borne's  and 
Heine's  services  as  forerunners  of  the  revolution  of  1848,  he 
considers  sufficient  to  secure  them  an  honorable  place  in  German 
history.  In  Heine,  he  admires  a  poetic  genius  in  whom  vibrated 
the  accords  and  discords  of  a  whole  century.  Unwilling  to  join 
in  the  defamation  of  Borne  and  Heine,  Francke  says:  "If  there 
is  to  be  blame,  and  alas !  there  is  ample  ground  for  it,  let  them 

83  Social  Forces  in  German  Literature,  by  Kuno  Francke.     New   York, 
1896,  pp.  509,  5H,  519-527. 


Heine  in  American  Criticism  61 

be  blamed  first  who  stigmatized  these  Jews  as  Jews,  who  slandered 
their  race  and  vilified  their  ideals,  who  cast  suspicion  upon  their 
motives  and  slurs  upon  their  achievements,  who  forced  them  into 
unworthy  compromises  and  stratagems  or  else  into  a  sterile 
opposition  to  the  whole  existing  order,  who  in  a  word  by  dis 
franchising  them,  made  them  either  scoffers  or  fanatics  or  both." 

Neither  Heine  nor  Borne  is  regarded  by  Francke  as  an  in 
tellectual  leader,  because  neither  has  added  to  the  store  of 
modern  culture  a  single  original  thought  or  a  single  poetic  symbol 
of  the  highest  life.  Their  strength,  he  contends,  was  consumed 
in  negation,  their  mission  was  fulfilled  in  fighting  the  principles 
of  the  Holy  Alliance,  in  helping  to  break  down  the  absolutism  of 
Metternich  and  in  making  room  again  for  the  ideas  which  had 
led  to  the  national  revival  of  1813. 

Of  all  the  accusations  against  Heine,  Francke  regards  the 
assertion  that  he  had  no  heart  for  Germany,  as  the  most  unjust. 
He  finds  a  note  of  deep-felt  sadness  and  longing,  homesickness 
and  isolation  in  the  lines  on  Germany: 

Ich  hatte  einst  ein  schones  Vaterland 

Der  Eichenbaum 

Wuchs  dort  so  hoch,  die  Veilchen  nickten  sanft 

Es  war  ein  Traum. 

Das  kiisste  mich  auf  deutsch  und  sprach  auf  deutsch 

(Man  glaubt  es  kaum 

Wie  gut  es  Klang)  das  Wort:  "Ich  liebe  dich!" 

Es  war  ein  Traum." 

Heine's  Pantheism, — the  emancipation  of  the  flesh,  Francke 
considers  as  a  new  form  of  that  ideal  of  free  humanity  toward  ^ 
which  all  German  culture  from  Luther  to  Goethe  had  tended. 
On  this  point  Francke  says:  "It  is  one  of  Heine's  lasting  achieve 
ments  to  have  brought  out,  in  those  much-abused  and  much- 
appropriated  essays,  "On  the  History  of  German  Religion  and 
Philosophy,  this  inner  continuity  of  the  intellectual  development 
of  modern  Europe." 

The  fatal  defect  and  barrenness  of  Heine's  life,  he  declares 
to  be  his  failure  to  place  his  genius  in  the  service  of  the  ideals 
of  existence  of  which  he  had  spoken  so  fervently,  and  his  abjur- 


62  Heine  in  American  Criticism 

ing  Judaism  and  adopting  the  outward  form  of  a  creed  which 
he  inwardly  despised.  Consequently  he  believes  Heine  to  have 
been  religiously,  politically  and  even  artistically  a  renegade. 

Francke  considers  Heine  an  unworthy  disciple  of  Goethe, 
because  Goethe  remained  faithful  to  the  modern  ideal  of  hu 
manity  and  his  very  doubt  was  at  bottom  constructive  and 
reverent,  whereas  Heine  denounced  this  ideal;  his  very  belief 
being  negative  and  frivolous.  After  finding  the  stability,  serious 
ness  and  trust  in  the  goodness  of  human  nature  lacking,  he  con 
cludes  as  follows:  "As  to  his  art,  nothing  could  be  more  signifi 
cant  for  Heine's  character  than  that  this  greatest  lyric  genius  since 
Goethe  should  have  produced  hardly  a  single  poem  which  fathoms 
the  depths  of  life.  This  master  in  the  art  of  poetic  hypnotizing 
t-  hardly  ever  sets  free  our  higher^self.  This  brilliant  painter  of 
nature,  who  with  a  few  careless  touches  charms  a  whole  land 
scape  before  our  eyes,  who  is  as  much  at  home  on  the  lonely  downs 
of  the  North  Sea  as  in  the  mountain  wildernesses  of  the  Pyrenees, 
hardly  ever  allows  us  a  glimpse  into  the  mysterious  brooding  and 
moving  of  nature's  creative  forces.  This  accomplished  connois 
seur  of  the  human  heart,  this  expert  of  human  desires,  hardly 
ever  reveals  the  secret  of  true  love.  This  philosophic  apostle  of 
a  complete  and  harmonious  humanity  revels  as  a  poet  in  exposing 
his  own  unharmonious,  fickle,  scoffing,  petulant  self.  ...  Is 
it  too  much  to  say  that  of  all  the  writers  of  his  time  Heine  is  the 
saddest  example  of  the  intellectual  degeneration  wrought  by  the 
political  principles  of  the  age  of  the  Restoration?" 

WILLIAM  T.  BRANTLY.54 

This  article  is  a  review  of  American  translations  of  the 
prose  writings  of  Heine.  Brantly  is  of  the  opinion  that  as  a 
great  lyric  poet,  Heine's  fame  is  secure,  and  that  his  place  is 
indubitably  with  the  immortals.  Heine,  he  feels  sure,  pos 
sesses  every  merit  that  a  prose  writer  should  have — precision, 
balance,  wit,  humor,  pathos,  learning,  originality,  and  above  all, 
a  style  of  limpid  clearness  and  sovereign  charm.  In  all  Heine's 


Conservative  Review,  Vol.  I,  1899,  pp.  60-73. 


Heine  in  American  Criticism  63 

twelve  volumes  of  prose,  Mr.  Brantly  does  not  find  a  dull  line. 
As  a  critic  of  literature  and  philosophy,  he  thinks,  Heine  dis 
plays  extraordinary  acumen  and  learning.  Intellectually  and 
physically  he  regards  Heine  as  a  mixture  of  Apollo  and  Mephis- 
topheles  sometimes  wholly  an  Apollo,  sometimes  wholly  a  scof 
fing,  sneering,  witty  Mephistopheles  and  very  often  both  at  the 
same  time.  Mr.  Brantly  considers  the  reckless  abuse  of  persons 
as  one  of  the  most  astounding  things  in  Heine's  prose,  and  con 
cludes:  "Heine's  work  in  its  totality  is  like  a  vast  building  con 
taining  within  its  circumference  every  variety  of  architecture — 
a  solemn  Gothic  nave  leading  the  spirit  heavenward,  a  gorge 
ous  Renaissance  palace,  full  of  the  lust  of  the  flesh,  of  the  lust  of 
the  eye  and  the  pride  of  life;  a  pagan  temple  of  Aphrodite, — an 
abode  of  love  and  beauty." 

W.   A.   R.   KERR.55 

The  reason  why  Heine  is  the  greatest  favorite  among  the 
foreign  poets  with  English  readers,  Mr.  Kerr  thinks,  is  because 
he  is  at  once  as  sentimental  as  Orlando  and  as  cynical  as  Jaques 
and  possesses  infinite  variety.  Heine's  fame,  he  thinks,  rests 
upon  his  strange  mingling  of  sentiment  and  cynicism.  Of 
Heine's  sea-poetry  Mr.  Kerr  says:  "He  struck  an  almost  un 
touched  chord  in  German  song.  Till  then  the  mystery,  the  cease 
less  change,  the  subtle  suggestiveness  of  the  ocean,  had  been  un 
noticed  in  Germany." 

The  work  that  Heine  produced  during  his  years  of  suffering, 
Mr.  Kerr  finds  tainted  by  an  increasing  cynicism,  a  growing 
recklessness  and  a  regrettable  tendency  to  coarseness. 

LILIAN  WniTiNG.56 

The  singular  richness  in  beauty  and  melody  of  Heine's 
songs  are  duly  appreciated  by  this  poetess,  and  she  has  given  us 
some  fine  translations  of  Heine's  lyrics.  The  Song  of  Heine's 
Pine  and  Palm  (Ein  Fichtenbaum  steht  einsam)  she  regards  as 


65  Canadian  Magazine,  Vol.  15,  1900,  p.  35  f. 

58  The  World  Beautiful  in  Books,  by  Lilian  Whiting.     Boston,  1901. 


64  Heine  in  American  Criticism 

a  wonderful  example  of  a  picture  poem.  Of  her  work  as  a 
translator  of  Heine's  verse  we  shall  speak  in  a  subsequent 
section. 

CALVIN  TnoMAs.57 

Heine's  much  reviled  emancipation  of  the  flesh,  Professor 
Thomas  finds  also  in  the  early  works  of  Schiller  and  he  suggests 
that  here  is  an  opportunity  for  malicious  criticism  to  assert 
itself.  In  speaking  of  Schiller's  erotic  verses  addressed  to  Laura, 
Thomas  says:  "We  miss  in  them  altogether  the  captivating  sim 
plicity  which  the  young  Goethe  and  later  the  young  Heine 
caught  from  the  songs  of  the  people." 


JOHN  FIRMAN  COAR. 


58 


"As  I  was  born  to  heap  eternal  ridiciule  on  all  that  is  worth 
less,  gone  to  seed,  absurd,  false,  and  farcical,  so  it  is  but  a  trait 
of  my  nature  to  feel  that  which  is  sublime,  to  admire  that  which 
is  majestic  and  to  glorify  that  which  has  life." 

In  these  words  of  Heine,  Coar  finds  the  keynote  to  his 
character  as  a  man  and  poet.  He  regards  as  wrong  the  view 
that  Heine  was  destructive  out  of  mere  love  of  destruction. 
The  inconsistencies  of  all  Heine  did  and  wrote,  Coar  believes, 
find  their  ultimate  unity  in  the  consistency  of  his  democracy. 

Speaking  of  the  Reisebilder  and  Buck  der  Lieder,  Coar 
says :  "Intensely  subjective  these  works  certainly  were,  but  their 
intense  subjectivity  was  objectively  conceived.  It  is  evident  that 
the  poetic  consciousness  from  which  they  emanated  was  satu 
rated  with  the  restless,  troubled  craving  of  contemporary  life, 
not  as  the  negation  of  his  personal  desires,  but  as  the  negation 
of  its  own  social  ideals,  and  this  fact  gave  to  his  poetry  a  quality 
not  to  be  found  in  the  poetry  of  isolation.  In  his  poetic  sub 
jectivity  was  reflected  the  contrasts  of  an  objective  reality.  They 
were  the  contrasts  that  the  contemporaries  felt,  and  that  he  too, 


"  The  Life  and  Works  of  Schiller,  by  Calvin  Thomas.  New  York,  1901, 
p.  20. 

68  Studies  in  German  Literature  in  the  Nineteenth  Century,  by  J.  F.  Coar. 
New  York,  1903,  pp.  160-192. 


Heine  in  American  Criticism  65 

as  a  child  of  his  day,  felt,  though  he  felt  them  more  keenly. 
Ihese  his  poetic  imagination  laid  hold  of  and  fashioned  into 
forms  poetic." 

Coar  believes  that  Heine  overstepped  the  bounds  of  decency 
in  attacking  Platen  and  Borne.  Highly  creditable  he  finds 
Heine's  devotion  to  his  wife  and  affection  for  his  mother.  The 
Romanzero  he  pronounces  to  be  in  many  respects  the  noblest 
work  of  Heine's  poetic  pen,  the  three  books,  Histories,  Lamen 
tations  and  Hebraic  Melodies  comprising  the  great  lyric  trilogy 
of  his  life.  Mr.  Coar  condemns  severely  Heine's  gibes  and 
flippant  grossness.  The  poetical  life  of  Heine  is  divided  by  Mr. 
Coar  into  five  phases  of  growth.  In  the  first  the  personal 
element  predominates,  and  the  result  is  his  songs  of  love.  In  the 
second  phase  Heine  observed  objective  life  through  the  medium 
of  his  emotions  and  subjective  world  sorrow  came  to  the 
surface,  characterized  also  by  the  retention  of  the  poetic  dream 
land  as  a  refuge  from  the  discordant  reality.  In  the  sea  poetry 
his  enlarged  conception  of  nature  modified  the  poetic  activity 
of  Heine  and  his  poetry  entered  on  a  third  phase.  The  most 
significant  feature  of  this  change  was  the  attempt  to  measure 
human  life  not  by  the  standards  of  personal  volition,  but  by  the 
standards  of  a  great  natural  phenomenon.  Heine's  exile  brought 
to  fruition  the  theme  of  liberty  and  he  passed  through  the  fourth 
phase.  In  the  Romanzero  we  see  the  poet  in  the  last  phase  of 
his  activity.  The  fight  for  freedom,  Coar  insists,  made  Heine  a 
theoretical  democrat,  though  it  deprived  him  of  the  power  to 
conceive  the  poetic  vision  of  democracy.  About  Heine's  de 
mocracy  Coar  writes:  "His  civic  democracy  could  express  it 
self  in  poetry  only  through  negation  of  political  forms,  and  his 
religious  democracy  only  through  accentuation  of  the  sensual 
element  of  life." 

This  Mr.  Coar  declares  was  the  tragedy  of  Heine's  last 
days,  the  failure  of  his  life.  The  Book  of  Songs,  Coar  says, 
"came  like  gusts  of  refreshing  wind,  so  unconventional  and 
sprightly  was  the  treatment  of  their  themes  and  so  close  to  the 
hearts  of  men  these  themes  themselves." 


66  Heine  in  American  Criticism 

ROBERT  W.  DEERiNG.59 

Professor  Deering  recognizes  in  Heine  the  keenest  satirist, 
and  after  Goethe,  the  most  graceful,  gifted  poet  of  the  century, — 
the  best  embodiment  of  his  restless,  discontented  age,  and  one  of 
the  most  important,  though  unwholesome,  influences  in  modern 
German  literature.  He  repeats  Matthew  Arnold's  view  of  Heine 
as  a  splendid  genius  gone  adrift  for  lack  of  moral  balance.  Of 
the  Book  of  Songs,  Deering  says:  "It  will  preserve  Heine's 
memory  to  posterity.  It  contains  some  of  the  choicest  gems  of 
lyric  poetry  in  German  or  any  other  literature.  No  mere  words 
can  describe  the  deep  feeling,  the  noblest  sentiment,  the  tender 
pathos,  the  haunting  melancholy,  the  exquisite  imagery,  the  per 
fect  rhythm,  of  many  of  these  songs." 

But  the  sweet  harmony  of  these  chords,  Deering  finds,  is 
often  broken  by  the  jangling  discord  of  Heine's  frenzied  bitter 
ness;  his  mingling  of  the  holiest  sentiment  with  a  mocking 
cynicism,  and  a  bestial  sensuality.  Acknowledging  the  Reise- 
bilder  to  be  the  most  remarkable  travels  ever  written,  Deering 
continues:  "They  offer  us  the  most  amazing  bizarre  collection 
of  sparkling  wit,  rollicking  humor,  cutting  criticism,  tender 
pathos,  venomous  satire,  downright  vulgarity,  that  was  ever 
printed." 

The  colossal  egotism  of  the  Reisebilder  Deering  considers 
the  best  commentary  on  Heine's  character  and  genius.  Behind 
all  his  cynical  abuse  the  writer  finds  in  Heine  a  latent  love  of  the 
old  home,  an  unfailing  affection  for  his  mother,  and  these  he 
calls  Heine's  redeeming  traits.  He  thinks  that  Heine  was  too 
unstable  or  volatile  to  be  a  real  thinker  about  anything;  his 
opinions  are  too  subjective  to  be  reliable;  they  are  founded  on 
personal  pique  and  prejudice  rather  than  on  facts.  That  Heine 
was  a  liberator  of  thought  and  leader  of  men,  Deering  denies 
because  he  thinks  Heine  was  not  the  master  of  great  ideas,  but 
the  slave  of  great  passions.  As  a  critic,  he  regards  Heine  as 
negative, — tearing  down,  never  building  up.  Of  Heine's  wit  he 
says:  "It  is  a  lightning  bolt, — brilliant  but  blasting." 


09  The  Chautauquan,  Vol.  XXXV,  1902,  pp.  271,  280. 


Heine  in  American  Criticism  67 

RICHARD  HOCHDOERFER.GO 

Of  Heine's  prose  work  Professor  Hochdoerfer  is  inclined 
to  regard  the  inimitable  Harzreise  as  the  finest  example.  In 
spite  of  the  fine  satire  and  brilliancy  of  Atta  Troll  and  Deutsch- 
land  he  cannot  consider  them  as  German  classics,  because,  in 
these  poems  as  in  the  controversial  writings  against  Count  Platen 
and  Borne,  he  finds  the  brilliant  and  fearless  wit  impaired  by  a 
certain  mannerism  and  recklessness  foreign  to  Heine's  earlier 
muse.  Mr.  Hochdoerfer  thinks  that  the  poems  Heine  wrote  dur 
ing  his  last  years  are  among  his  best, — not  less  entitled  to  im 
mortality  than  those  incorporated  in  the  Buck  der  Lieder. 

He  feels  confident  in  calling  the  Book  of  Songs  one  of  the 
world's  classics;  yet  the  spirit  of  mockery  and  vulgarity  break 
ing  forth  in  the  closing  lines  of  a  poem,  he  thinks,  mars  its 
beauty  as  "a  hideous  sore  or  vulgar  line  disfigures  an  otherwise 
perfect  face."  Hochdoerfer  calls  Ratcliffe  and  Almansar  poems 
in  dramatic  form  without  any  of  the  qualities  fitting  for  stage 
representation.  The  poems  of  the  North  Sea  Cycle  he  takes  to 
be  Heine's  most  peculiar  and  incomparable  contribution  to  Ger 
man  literature.  The  Pilgrimage  to  Kevlaar,  Hochdoerfer  con 
siders  a  master-stroke  of  Heine's  genius,  and  sure  of  a  place 
among  the  best  German  ballads.  Concerning  the  Book  of  Songs, 
he  says:  "In  the  Book  of  Songs  Heine  has  erected  to  himself 
a  monument  which  will  stand  the  test  of  time  and  make  in 
vective  powerless.  Friend  and  foe  must  concede  that  the  senti 
ment  to  which  these  songs  give  utterance  has  never  found  a  more 
beautiful  body.  No  folksongs  have  achieved  greater  popularity. 
He  played  the  harp  of  love,  he  played  on  the  strings  of  the 
human  soul  with  such  perfect  mastery  that  all  people  capable  of 
passion  and  emotion  listen  with  love  and  laughter,  with  trem 
bling  and  tears." 

ANNA  ALICE  CHAPIN.SI 

Of  all  the  descriptions  of  the  Marseillaise  ever  writen,  Miss 
Chapin  thinks  there  in  none  so  fine  as  that  of  Heine.  In  regard 

*°  Introductory  Studies  in  German  Literature,  by  Richard  Hochdoerfer. 
Chautauqua,  N.  Y.,  1904,  pp.  189-216. 

81  Makers  of  Song,  by  A.  A.  Chapin.     New  York,  p.  331. 


68  Heine  in  American  Criticism 

to  this  she  writes :  "His  sensitive  appreciation  seized  upon  the 
vivid  qualities  of  the  great  song,  and  inspired  him  with  images 
and  phrases  such  as  he  only  knew  how  to  combine." 

Heine's  style  she  considers  inimitable  and  his  prose  the 
purest  extant. 

E.   S.   MEYER.62 

In  criticising  two  new  Heine  Portraits  Mr.  Meyer  says  of 
the  first:  "This  is  undoubtedly  from  the  poet's  young  manhood, 
from  his  warm,  full,  voluptuous  throbbing  spring  of  love  and  song. 
It  is  a  face  of  feeling  rather  than  of  thought;  it  appeals  rather 
to  the  heart  than  to  the  mind.  Heine  at  this  age  was  all  feeling ; 
to  him  now  the  emotion  of  the  moment  was  the  real  truth  of 
life  and  its  artistic  expression  an  absolute  necessity.  The  sub 
jective  impressions  of  the  flying  hours,  so  intensely  absorbed, 
left  no  time  for  thought.  All  was  emotion,  a  passionate  longing 
for  fuller,  larger  perfect  feeling.  The  portrait  is  not  good  and 
yet  it  presents  almost  our  ideal  of  a  lyric  poet,  young,  tender, 
strong,  passionate,  but  full  of  sadness  and  longing.  This  is  the 
German  poet,  the  Heine  of  the  Buck  der  Lieder,  the  exquisite 
expression  of  youth's  passionate  certainty  that  life  is  nothing 
but  love,  love  with  its  glorious  rapture  of  possession  and  its  fear 
ful  void  of  loss." 

The  second  portrait  represents  Heine  twenty  years  later, 
still  in  full  possession  of  his  great  intellectual  power,  but  the  face 
looks  cold,  cynical,  almost  embittered.  Commenting  on  this 
change  Meyer  remarks:  "Thirty  years'  desecration  of,  and  con 
sequent  supposed  disillusion  in,  all  he  once  cherished  most, — life, 
love,  religion,  fatherland — are  indelibly  stamped  upon  this  coun 
tenance.  He  has  drunk  so  greedily  the  precious  wine  of  life  that 
now  there  are  bitter  dregs  in  every  draught." 

JOSEPH  JACOBS.63 

In  his  biographical  sketch  Mr.  Jacobs  treats  of  Heine  in  his 
relation  to  Judaism.  He  seeks  to  find  the  reason  why  Heine  did 
not  devote  his  great  powers  to  the  services  of  his  race  and  re- 

M  Critic,  Vol.  44,  p.  234  f . 

83  Jewish  Encyclopaedia,  Vol.  VI,  pp.  327-334. 


Heine  in  American  Criticism  69 

ligion,  in  his  earlier  training  and  environment.  Except  for  the 
few  years  at  Berlin,  Heine  did  not  come  under  any  specifically 
Jewish  influences  of  a  spiritual  kind ;  yet  Mr.  Jacobs  thinks  that 
this  Berlin  influence  was  deep  enough  to  stamp  Heine's  work 
with  a  Jewish  note  throughout  his  life.  Heine's  wit  and  pathos, 
Mr.  Jacobs  maintains,  are  essentially  Jewish. 

WILLIAM  V.  BYERs.64 

After  Horace,  Mr.  Byers  declares,  Heine  has  had  no  su 
perior  as  a  master  of  lyrical  expression.  Among  moderns,  he 
thinks,  Burns  alone  compares  with  Heine  and  even  Burns  him 
self,  though  greater  as  a  poet,  is  his  inferior  as  a  musician.  Al 
though  Heine  was  one  of  the  greatest  of  wits  as  well  as  the  great 
est  musician  of  his  age,  Mr.  Byers  does  not  rank  him  as  a  great 
poet,  because  a  great  poet  must  be  a  great  thinker,  whereas  Heine 
was  only  the  poet  of  the  Weltschmerz. 

Heine's  Reisebilder,  he  believes,  might  have  kept  his  name 
alive  had  he  never  written  the  Lieder. 

In  the  essays  and  songs  Mr.  Byers  finds  much  that  is  ab 
normal  and  diseased,  but  little  that  is  commonplace  and  nothing 
that  is  merely  silly.  At  the  worst  he  considers  Heine  diabolical, 
but  this  diabolism  is  that  of  a  great  soul  cast  down  but  not  lost. 

RICHARD  BURTON. 65 

Judging  by  quality,  Professor  Burton  places  Heine  with  the 
few  great  poets  and  literary  men  of  Germany.  Heine's  lyrics, 
he  thinks,  have  not  been  surpassed  in  Germany,  and  rank  with 
the  masterpieces  of  their  kind  in  world  literature.  As  a  prose 
writer  he  finds  Heine  had  extraordinary  brilliancy,  vigor  of 
thought  and  grace  of  form,  and  as  a  thinker  he  regards  him  as 
one  of  the  pioneers  of  modern  ideas  in  our  country.  What 
Burton  regards  as  reprehensible  is  that  Heine  is  at  times  sen 
sual,  ribald  and  blasphemous.  He  does  not  consider  Heine  an 
admirable  character. 


"The  World's  Best  Essays,  edited  by  D.  G.  Bremer.  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
Vol.  VI,  p.  2153  f. 

65  Library  of  the  World's  Best  Literature,  edited  by  C,  P.  Warner.  New 
York.  Vol.  XII,  pp.  7185-7220. 


70  Heine  in  American  Criticism 

Goethe  and  Heine  he  names  as  the  chief  exponents  of  German 
lyric  poetry  and  in  this  respect  he  thinks  Heine  is  incomparable. 
Of  their  relative  merits  he  says:  "Nor  in  lyric  expression  need 
Heine  yield  to  Goethe.  Some  of  Heine's  lyrics  are  among  the 
precious  bits  of  poetry  which  the  world  has  taken  forever  to  its 
heart, — their  haunting  perfection,  their  magic  of  diction,  and 
witchery  of  music  are  delicious/' 

The  exquisite  deep  romanticism  of  the  lyrics,  Burton  finds, 
is  sometimes  rudely  broken  by  Heine's  own  sneering  laugh.  As  a 
prose  writer  he  regards  the  Reisebilder  as  his  finest  example  and 
says :  "These  gay,  audacious,  charming,  bitter  travel  sketches, — 
these  phantasy  sketches  are  of  very  unequal  merit,  rang 
ing  from  the  exquisite  lyric  work  of  the  opening  section  and  the 
delightful  narrative  of  the  experiences  in  the  Harz  Mountains 
to  the  sparkling  indecencies  of  the  division  dealing  with  Italy, 
and  the  more  labored  argument  and  satire  of  the  English  frag 
ments. 

"Of  the  Reisebilder  as  a  whole  the  inspiration  grows  stead 
ily  less  in  the  successive  parts.  The  style  is  of  unprecedented 
vigor  and  brilliancy." 

To  say  a  wise,  keen  thing  in  a  light  way,  to  say  it  directly, 
yet  with  grace,  Burton  realizes,  calls  for  a  beautiful  talent;  but 
to  accomplish  this  in  and  with  the  German  language,  he  thinks, 
is  a  double  triumph  for  Heine.  Although  he  recognizes  in  Heine 
a  thinker,  a  force  in  the  development  of  modern  ideas, — the  ideas 
of  liberty  in  its  various  applications,  yet  Burton  thinks  that 
Matthew  Arnold  has  exaggerated  this  influence  in  his  remarkable 
essay  on  Heine  and  goes  too  far  in  declaring  him  the  "most  im 
portant  German  successor  and  continuator  of  Goethe  in  Goethe's 
most  important  line  of  activity,  that  of  a  soldier  in  the  war  of 
liberation  of  humanity."  Nevertheless,  Burton  admits  that 
Matthew  Arnold's  estimate  hits  nearer  the  mark  than  the  mis- 
appreciations  of  too  many  critics  of  his  own  country.  Heine's 
mission,  as  an  individualist  and  iconoclast,  he  finds  was  to  satir 
ize  with  trenchant  power  existing  abuses. 

In  Heine's  sentiment  Burton  finds  much  of  the  morbid  and 
in  this  respect  he  calls  him  decadent,  that  is  unwholesome,  ex- 


Heine  in  American  Criticism  71 

travagant  and  bestial.     But  intellectually,  he  feels  sure,  Heine 
saw  clearly  and  he  was  at  bottom  sane. 

THOMAS  WENTWORTH  HIGGINSON.GG 

Among  the  books  which  first  awakened  his  literary  enthusi 
asm,  and  created  in  him  a  zeal  for  German  literature,  Colonel 
Higginson  mentions  Heine's  Romantische  Schule  translated  by 
G.  W.  Haven  (Boston,  1836).  Speaking  of  some  favorite  pas 
sages  in  this  book  Higginson  says :  "I  fear  that  my  boyish  copy 
of  Heine  opens  of  itself  at  the  immortal  compliment  given  by 
the  violin  player  Solomons  to  George  III  of  England,  then  his 
pupil :  'Violin  players  are  divided  into  three  classes :  to  the  first 
class  belong  those  who  cannot  play  at  all ;  to  the  second  class 
belong  those  who  play  very  miserably;  and  to  the  third,  those 
who  play  finely;  Your  Majesty  has  already  elevated  yourself  to 
the  rank  of  the  second  class/  Tried  by  such  a  classification, 
Heine  certainly  ranks  in  the  third  class,  not  the  second." 

Higginson  thinks  it  strange  that  of  the  two  German  authors 
who  bid  fair  to  live  longest  on  the  road  to  immortality,  the  one, 
Goethe,  should  be  the  most  absolutely  German  among  them  all, 
while  Heine  died  in  heart,  as  in  residence,  a  Frenchman. 

Should  we  require  additional  evidence  of  Colonel  Higgin- 
son's  high  estimate  of  Heine  we  may  find  it  in  the  numerous 
witticisms  quoted  from  Heine  to  adorn  and  enliven  Higginson's 
various  prose  writings. 

WALT  WHITMAN. 

Dr.  Riethmueller  G7  in  his  investigation  was  not  fortunate 
enough  to  be  able  to  consult  Mr.  Traubel's  6S  recent  publication 
and  consequently  could  not  ascertain  Whitman's  estimate  of 
Heine.  One  citation 67  sounded  depreciative :  "For  American 
literature  we  want  mighty  authors,  not  even  Carlyle  and  Heine — 
like,  born  and  brought  up  in  (and  more  or  less  essentially  par- 


68  Part  of  a  Man's  Life,  by  T.  W.  Higginson.     Boston  and  New  York, 
1905,  p.  165  f. 

67  Walt  Whitman  and  the  Germans,  by  Richard  Riethmueller.     Philadel 
phia,  1906,  p.  25. 

68  With  Walt  Whitman  in  Camden,  by  Horace  Traubel.     Boston,  1906. 


72  Heine  in  American  Criticism 

taking  and  giving  out)  the  vast  abnormal  ward  or  hysterical 
sick  chamber  which  in  many  respects  Europe,  with  all  its  glories, 
would  seem  to  be." 

But  Traubel's  book  has  supplied  the  necessary  light.  On 
page  98  "8  he  reports  Whitman  (May  3,  1888),  while  speaking 
of  his  Leaves  of  Grass  and  their  alleged  indecency,  as  saying  in 
these  words:  "But  all  this  fear  of  indecency ;  all  this  noise  about 
purity  and  sex  and  all  the  social  order  and  the  Comstockism  par 
ticular  and  general  is  nasty — too  nasty  to  make  any  compromise 
with.  I  never  come  up  against  it  but  I  think  of  what  Heine 
said  to  a  woman  who  had  expressed  to  him  some  suspicion  about 
the  body.  'Madam/  said  Heine,  'are  not  all  naked  under  our 
clothes?'  I  have  not  yet  succeeded  in  getting  the  waist-coat 
out  of  customs  .  .  ." 

Traubel  tells  us  that  Whitman  (May  5,  1888)  had  been 
reading  Heine  again — the  Reisebilder,  concerning  which  he  said: 
"I  have  the  book  here;  it  is  good  to  read  at  any  time — Heine 
is  good  for  almost  any  one  of  my  moods.  And  that  reminds 
me:  the  best  thing  Arnold  ever  did  was  his  essay  on  Heine; 
that  is  the  one  thing  of  Arnold's  that  I  unqualifiedly  like." 

On  May  27,  1888,  Whitman  asked  Traubel  how  his  father 
was  and  then  said:  "Your  father  is  a  great  man.  He  was  here 
the  other  day ;  .  spouted  German  poetry  to  me, — Goethe, 

Schiller,  Heine,  Lessing.  I  couldn't  understand  a  word,  but  I 
could  understand  everything  else.  .  .  .  There  he  was  spout 
ing  away  in  a  language  strange  to  me — yet  very  much  of  it 
seemed  as  plain  as  if  it  was  English." 

However,  the  most  significant  passage  for  us  is  given  by 
Traubel  on  page  461.  Whitman  had  been  looking  over  Arnold's 
essay  on  Heine  again  and  said :  "I  would  read  it  if  I  was  you, 
Horace.  It's  the  only  thing  from  Arnold  that  I  have  read  with 
zest.  Heine !  Oh,  how  great !  The  more  you  stop  to  look,  to 
examine,  the  deeper  seem  the  roots ;  the  broader  and  higher  the 
umbrage.  And  Heine  was  free — was  one  of  the  men  who  win 
by  degrees.  He  was  the  master  of  a  pregnant  sarcasm :  he  brought 
down  a  hundred  hnmbuggeries  if  he  brought  down  two.  At 
times  he  plays  with  you  with  a  deliberate,  baffling  sportiveness." 


Heine's  American  Translators  73 


HEINE'S  AMERICAN  TRANSLATORS. 
INTRODUCTION. 

Although  the  number  of  American  translators  of  Heine's 
works  is  amazingly  large,  yet  we  must  remember  that  there  were 
other  means  by  which  Americans  unable  to  read  German  could 
become  acquainted  with  him.  The  English  magazines,  which 
had  a  large  circulation  here,  continued  to  publish  criticisms  and 
translations  from  which  many  American  literary  men  first 
learned  to  appreciate  the  genius  of  Heine.  Many  of  these  articles 
were  reprinted  in  the  Living  Age.  Complete  translations  of 
Heine's  poems  by  E.  A.  Bowring  and  others  appeared  in  England 
as  early  as  1858,  and,  being  reprinted  in  Bohn's  Library,  served 
to  augment  the  number  of  American  translations.  Later  Heine's 
Book  of  Songs,  compiled  from  the  translations  of  E.  A.  Bowring 
and  Theodore  Martin,  appeared  in  New  York,  and  specimens  of 
these  and  other  English  metrical  translations  from  Heine  were 
reprinted  in  America  in  such  selections  as  the  University  of 
Literature,  and  the  Library  of  World's  Best  Literature,  as  well 
as  in  Longfellow's  Poems  of  Places  ana1  Poetry  of  Europe. 
Other  English  translations  from  Heine,  such  as  those  of  Snod- 
grass,  Egan,  Wallis,  Storr,  Ellis,  Sharp  and  Kate  Freiligraphf 
Kroeker  also  had  large  sales  in  this  country,  thus  attesting  the 
astonishing  demand  in  America  for  translations  from  Heine. 

The  first  collection  of  the  works  of  Heine  in  seven  volumes 
was  published  in  Philadelphia  in  1857-59.  As  early  as  1855,  a 
translation  of  the  Reiscbilder  by  Lelancl  appeared  in  Philadelphia. 
That  Heine  himself  was  gratified  by  Leland's  translation  of  the 
Reisebilder  is  obvious  from  the  following  extract  from  a  letter  to 
Mr.  Calmann  Levy:  "A  piece  of  good  news  that  I  forgot  to  com 
municate  to  you  the  other  day.  An  English  translation  of  the 
Reisebilder  which  has  appeared  in  New  York  (Philadelphia; 


74  Heine's  American  Translators 

none  ever  appeared  in  New  York)  has  met  with  an  enormous 
success,  according  to  a  correspondence  in  the  Augsburger  Zeitung 
(which  does  not  love  me  enough  to  invent  successes  for  me). 
Henri  Heine,  Paris,  Wednesday,  October  4,  1855." 

In  our  long  list  of  American  interpreters  of  Heine  we  shall 
find  many  famous  names  and  not  a  few  obscure  ones.  Con 
sidering  the  difficulty  of  the  task,  we  need  not  be  surprised  to  find 
that  so  many  have  given  us  poor  renderings.  In  some  cases  it 
is  exasperating  to  see  what  a  miserable  appearance  the  exquisite 
lyrics  of  Heine  present  after  mutilation  by  clumsy  and  unskilled 
hands.  But  we  must  not  condemn  too  severely,  and  it  is  beyond 
the  scope  of  this  treatise  to  enter  into  details  concerning  the  in 
numerable  inelegancies  and  inaccuracies  in  the  various  trans 
lations.  If  the  translator  adheres  strictly  and  pedantically  merely 
to  the  form  of  the  original,  his  translation  loses  the  wonderful 
unlabored  simplicity,  and  we  get  an  awkward,  insipid  metrical 
copy.  Those  who  concern  themselves  with  the  idea,  and  not  with 
the  form,  obtain  results  equally  disappointing.  That  the  task  of 
successful  and  felicitous  translation  is  not  an  impossible  one,  will 
be  obvious  from  the  specimens  which  we  shall  quote  later.  If 
the  translator  succeeds  in  preserving  the  spirit  and  tone  of  the 
original,  so  that  the  translated  copy  arouses  the  understanding 
and  emotions  of  the  foreigner,  we  may  consider  him  successful. 

Yet  the  best  translation  takes  much  of  the  soul  out  of  poetry 
like  Heine's ;  though  the  form  and  features  of  the  original  are 
preserved,  its  very  breath  of  life  is  gone — it  is  like  a  corpse, 
whose  cheeks  do  not  glow,  whose  eyes  do  not  dream  or  flash  or 
sparkle,  whose  heart  does  not  thrill  or  throb  with  feeling,  it  is 
pale  and  still  and  cold. 

In  this  section  we  shall  treat  briefly,  in  chronological  order 
as  far  as  possible  of  the  various  translations  from  Heine's  works 
which  have  appeared  in  America,  our  aim  being  rather  to  give  a 
complete  view  of  the  field  without  entering  into  wearisome 
details. 


Heine's  American  Translators  75 

G.  W.  HAVEN. 

"Letters  Auxiliary  to  the  History  of  Modern  Polite  Liter 
ature  in  Germany,  by  Heinrich  Heine,  translated  from  the  Ger 
man  by  G.  W.  Haven.  Boston,  1836."  We  cannot  overestimate 
the  significance  and  influence  of  Haven's  translation ;  it  served 
to  introduce  American  readers  to  the  treasures  and  beauties  of 
German  literature  and  established  the  fame  and  popularity  of 
Heine  in  America.  Immediately  after  its  publication,  a  lengthy 
review  of  Heine's  work  appeared  in  the  North  American  Review. 
This  translation  really  became  a  text  book  on  German  literature, 
and  was  one  of  the  few  books  that  created  an  enthusiasm  for 
German  literature  in  this  country.  Longfellow  incorporated 
Heine's  criticism  on  Goethe  and  the  Niebelnngen  and  Des  Kna- 
benwunderhorn  in  Hyperion  and  The  Poets  and  Poetry  of 
Europe. 

The  substance  of  the  Letters  Auxiliary  formed  originally  a 
part  of  a  larger  work  written  and  published  in  French  with  the 
title  Sun  I'Allernagne,  and  Heine,  having  reason  to  expect  a  trans 
lation  into  German,  executed  the  work  himself.  From  fear  of 
the  censorship  and  from  a  due  regard  to  the  feelings  of  his 
countrymen,  he  omitted  not  only  the  political,  but  also  the  most 
offensive  portions  of  the  theological  and  philosophical  parts. 
This  modified  work  is  the  original  of  Haven's  translation. 

To  the  great  merits  of  Haven's  translation  the  reviewers 
have  given  us  sufficient  testimony  and  assurance.  His  is,  indeed, 
a  translation,  not  only  of  the  letter,  but  of  the  spirit  also.  One 
reviewer  expressed  his  admiration  of  Haven's  talent  as  a  trans 
lator  in  a  convincing  manner,  and  requested  him  to  pursue  his 
career  and  gratify  the  American  public  with  many  similar  proofs 
of  his  acquirements  and  ability. 

HENRY  WADSWORTH  LONGFELLOW. 

The  winter  of  1836,  spent  by  Longfellow  in  Germany, 
appears  to  have  been  the  time  when  most  of  his  translations 
from  the  German  were  made.  Translating  played  an  important 
part  in  the  development  of  Longfellow's  powers.  He  found  an 


76  Heine's  American  Translators 

outlet  for  his  metrical  thought  and  emotion  in  the  translation 
of  lyrics.  This  was  a  pleasant  avocation  for  him  and  to  the 
end  of  his  life  he  found  an  ever  grateful  occupation  in  recast 
ing  the  foreign  thought  of  other  men  in  moulds  of  his  own.  His 
appreciation  of  European  literary  art  was  the  occasion  for  a  fine 
ness  of  literary  expression  quite  beyond  his  earlier  independent 
efforts.  He  found,  in  translating,  a  gentle  stimulus  to  his  poetic 
faculties,  and  reverted  to  it  when  wishing  to  quicken  his  spirit. 
"I  agree  with  you  entirely,"  he  writes  to  Freiligrath,  November 
24,  1843,  "m  what  you  say  about  translations.  It  is  like  running 
a  ploughshare  through  the  soil  of  one's  mind ;  a  thousand  germs 
of  thought  start  up,  which  otherwise  might  have  lain  and  rotted 
in  the  ground." 

There  were  two  special  incentives  to  his  translating.  In 
1843  ne  undertook  the  preparation  of  the  Poets  and  Poetry  of 
Europe  and  in  1874  he  began  the  collection  known  as  Poems  of 
Places.  In  preparing  his  academic  lectures  and  the  critical 
papers,  which  he  contributed  to  the  periodicals,  he  found  occasion 
to  introduce  a  number  of  translations. 

In  Hyperion  (1839)  when  speaking  of  Goethe  and  Menzel, 
Longfellow  introduced  Heine's  view  of  Goethe,  translated  from 
Die  Romantische  Schule.  Longfellow's  paper  on  Heine  appeared 
in  Graham's  Magazine  in  1842.  To  illustrate  his  criticism  he 
translated  in  this  article  the  following  excerpts  from  the  Reise- 
bilder:  (i)  Tour  to  the  Harz  Mountains  (Scene  on  the  Brocken, 
Reisebilder,  Vol.  i),  (2)  Street  Musicians  (Reisebilder,  Vol.  3). 

The  only  metrical  translation,  which  Longfellow  published 
from  Heine  appeared  in  The  Belfry  of  Bruges  and  Other  Poems 
(1846)  with  the  title  The  Sea  Hath  Its  Pearls,  comprising  the 
first  three  verses  of  the  longer  poem  with  the  title  Nachts  in  der 
Cajiite,  which  forms  a  portion  of  Heine's  Die  Nordsee  in  his 
Reisebilder.  This  translation  has  a  quality  distinctively  Long 
fellow's  while  still  a  faithful  rescript  of  the  original.  But  he  has 
not  succeeded,  in  this  translation,  in  rendering  the  rhythm  of  the 
original.  This  is  evident  by  a  comparison  of  the  translation 
with  the  original  (Elster,  I,  171). 


Heine's  American  Translators  77 

Nachts  in  der  Kajiite. 

Das  Meer  hat  seine  Perlen, 
Der  Himmel  hat  seine  Sterne, 
Aber  mein  Herz,  mein  Herz, 
Mein  Herz  hat  seine  Liebe. 
Gross  ist  das  Meer  und  der  Himmel, 
Doch  grosser  ist  mein  Herz, 
Und  schoner  als  Perlen  und  Sterne, 
Leuchtet  und  strahlt  meine  Liebe. 
Du  kleines,  junges  Madchen, 
Komm  an  mein  grosses  Herz ; 
Mein  Herz  und  das  Meer  und  der  Himmel 
Vergehen  vor  lauter  Liebe." 

"  The  sea  hath  its  pearls, 

The  heaven  hath  its  stars ; 

But  my  heart,  my  heart, 

My  heart  hath  its  love. 
"  Great  are  the  sea  and  the  heaven, 

Yet  greater  is  my  heart; 

And  fairer  than  pearls  and  stars 

Flashes  and  beams  my  love. 

'  Thou  little,  youthful  maiden, 

Come  unto  my  great  heart ; 

My  heart,  and  the  sea,  and  the  heaven 
Are  melting  away  with  love." 

SARAH  AUSTIN. 

Sarah  Austin's  translations  of  selections  from  Heine's  prose 
are  to  be  found  in  her  Fragments  from  German  Prose  Writers 
(New  York,  1841 ).  On  pages  60-63  we  nave  The  Harts-Miners 
from  the  Reisebilder,  and  on  pages  152-154  The  Hartz  also 
from  the  Reisebilder.  The  book  also  contains  a  brief  biographi 
cal  and  critical  sketch  of  Heine.  Whatever  she  translated  from 
Heine  is  certainly  well  done,  and  she  managed  to  select  such 
passages  as  well  illustrate  the  artistical  merit  of  Heine's  prose 
style. 

W.  H.  HURLBUT. 

In  his  critique  on  Heine  in  the  North  American  Review 
(Vol.  LXIX,  1849,  pp.  216-249),  Hurlbut  incorporated  ex- 


78  Heine's  American  Translators 

tracts  from  the  Reisebilder  which  he  translated  to  illustrate 
the  charms  of  Heine's  style.  Besides  these  quotations  the  re 
view  also  contained  the  following  metrical  translations  of 
Heine's  poems.  Wir  sassen  am  Fischerhause,^  Ich  bin  die 
Prinzessin  Use  (Elster,  I,  159),  Die  Wallfahrt  nach  Kevlaar 
(Elster,  I,  146),  Du  schones  Fischer  mddchen,  Ein  Fichtenbaum 
steht  einsam.  These  translations  adhere  very  closely  to  the 
original  rhythm  and  yet  the  melody  is  lost  to  a  considerable 
extent.  If  they  have  but  few  other  merits,  Hurlbut's  versions 
are  at  least  faithful  in  reproducing  the  spirit  and  tone 
of  Heine's  lyrics.  These  translations  were  evidently  considered 
excellent  for  we  find  Longfellow  and  others  frequently  quoting 
them.  As  a  specimen  of  Hurlbut's  ability  as  a  translator  let  us 
take  the  familiar  lyric,  Du  schones  Fischermadchen,  rendered 
by  him  as  follows: 

Thou   charming  fishermaiden, 
Come  push  thy  boat  to  land, 
And  sitting  here  beside  me, 
Talk  with  me,  hand  in  hand. 
On  my  heart  thy  young  head  lay, 
Oh!  trust  thyself  to  me; 
Thou  day  by  day  confidest 
Thyself  to  the  raging  sea. 
And  like  that  sea  my  heart  is, 
With  storms  and  ebb  and  flow, 
And    richest   pearls   too,    sleeping 
In  silent  depths  below. 

Perhaps  in  many  respects  a  more  meritorious  translation 
is  his  rendering  of  the  inimitable  Ein  Fichtenbaum  steht  einsam: 

A  lonely  fir-tree  standeth 

On  a  chilly  Northern  height. 

The  snow  and  the  ice  while  it  sleepeth, 

Weave  round  it  a  garment  white. 

It  dreameth  of  a  palm  tree, 

That  far  in  the  Eastern  land, 

Alone  and  silent  mourneth 

On  its  plain  of  burning  sand. 

"*  Heinrich  Heine's  SdmtUche  Werke,  von  Ernst  Elster,  Leipzig. 


Heine's  American  Translators  79 

ALFRED  BASKERVILLE. 

As  early  as  1854  Baskerville  had  published  his  Poetry  of 
Germany  in  Philadelphia.  It  consisted  of  selections  from  up 
wards  of  seventy  of  the  most  celebrated  poets,  translated  into 
English  verse,  with  the  original  text  on  the  opposite  page.  This 
book  had  a  large  sale  and  a  fifth  edition  appeared  in  1866.  It  is 
dedicated  to  the  memory  of  his  wife,  of  whose  valuable  assist 
ance  the  translator  was  deprived  by  death,  during  the  progress 
of  the  translation.  This  volume  presents  to  the  English 
reader  a  tolerably  complete  outline  of  modern  German  poetry, 
giving  the  most  popular  pieces  of  the  most  celebrated  poets. 
The  selection  begins  with  Hartmann  von  der  Aue,  Wolfram 
von  Eschenbach,  Walter  von  der  Vogelweide  and  Gottfried 
von  Strassburg.  The  poets  are  arranged  according  to  priority 
of  birth.  The  selections  are  confined  to  lyrical  poems.  The 
original  text  has  been  placed  on  the  opposite  page  and  in  many 
cases  this  acts  as  a  mirror,  and  reflects  with  increased  vividness 
the  defects  of  the  translations.  In  every  case  the  metre  of  the 
original  has  been  adhered  to  even  to  the  ancient  hexameter  and 
pentameter.  Baskerville  endeavored  to  infuse  the  spirit  of  the 
original  into  his  translations,  and  yet  he  usually  renders  the 
German  literally.  We  can  doubtless  find,  in  these  translations, 
sufficient  cause  for  blame,  without  cavilling  at  occasional  imper 
fections  in  the  rhymes,  but  we  must  be  lenient  and  take  into 
consideration  the  difficulty  of  the  task.  From  Heine,  Baskerville 
translates  the  following:  Die  Grenadiere,  Lorelei,  Habe  mich 
mit  Liebesreden,  Und  zviissten's  die  Blumen  die  Kleinen,  Warum 
sind  dcnn  die  Rosen  so  blass,  Liebste,  sollst  mir  heute  sagen,  Du 
schdnes  Fischer  mad  chen,  Das  Meer  erglanzte  weit  hinaus,  Ich 
stand  gelehnt  an  den  Mast,  Mein  Kind,  wir  <waren  Kinder,  Ich 
rief  den  Tcufel  und  cr  kam.  Of  these,  Baskerville  comes  near 
est  to  perfection  in  his  translation  of  Das  Meer  erglanzte  weit 
hinaus. 

The  sea  in  the  glow  of  departing  eve 

Far,  far  in  the  distance  shone; 

We  sat  by  the  fisherman's  lonely  cot, 

In  silence  we  sat  and  alone. 


8o  Heine's  American  Translators 

The  mists  arose,  and  the  waters  swelled, 

The  sea-gull  flew  to  and  fro; 

And  from  thine  eyes,  as  they  beamed  with  love, 

I  saw  the  tear-drops  flow. 

I  saw  them  falling  upon  thy  hand, 

Then  on  my  knee  I  sank; 

And  from  thy  little  lily  hand 

The  burning  tears  I  drank. 

E'er  since  that  hour,  I've  pined  away, 

My  soul  with  longing  dies; 

That  wretched  maiden  has  poisoned  me 

With  the  venom  of  her  bright  eyes. 


GRAHAM'S  MAGAZINE. 

In  Graham's  Magazine,  Volume  XL VI I,  1855,  Page  429>  we 
find  the  following  translation  from  Heine: 

A  Fragment:  Wenn  ich  in  deine  Augen  sehe. 

"  As  within  thine  eyes  I  look, 
All  my  pain  the  heart  forsook, 
When  my  lips  with  thine  are  sealed, 
All  the  wounds  of  life  are  healed. 

On  thy  heart  when  I  recline, 
Heaven's  happiness  is  mine; 
When  thou  say'st  I  love  but  thee — 
Bitter  tears  fall  fast  and  free. 

This  translation  is  too  free,  in  fact,  almost  a  paraphrase. 
In  order  to  get  his  rhyme  the  translator  has  spoiled  the  effect  by 
shifting  from  the  present  tense  (line  i )  to  the  past  tense  (line  2). 

The  epigram  translated  from  Heine  in  Graham's  Magazine, 
Volume  XLVIII,  1856,  page  326,  fails  to  render  the  rhythm  of  the 
original : 

Wir  fuhren  allein  im  dunkeln. 

All  night  alone  we  journeyed  on, 
In  a  carriage  close  together ; 
We  laughed  and  talked  right  joyously, 
In  spite  of  wind  and  weather. 


Heine's  American  Translators  81 

But  when  first  broke  the  morning's  light, 
Judge  of  our  fright,  my  child ! 
Between  us  sat  a  blind-eyed  boy 
T'was  love  with  aspect  mild. 


CHARLES  GODFREY  LELAND. 

Charles  Godfrey  Leland  was  a  man  of  many  accomplish 
ments.  A  Philadelphian  by  birth,  he  commanded  a  Pennsylvania 
Battery  in  the  Civil  War.  It  was  a  humorous  ballad,  Hans 
Breitmann's  Barty  that  made  him  famous.  He  was  the  author 
of  nearly  a  hundred  books,  covering  many  varieties  of  literature. 
His  translation  of  Heine  has  the  reputation  of  being  the  finest 
in  the  English  language,  though  he  was  not  always  successful 
in  interpreting  the  German  poet's  verse.  That  was  better  done 
by  the  poetess,  Emma  Lazarus. 

While  employed  on  the  Philadelphia  Bulletin,  Leland  trans 
lated  Heine's  Reisebilder  (Pictures  of  Travel).  For  it,  poetry 
included,  he  was  to  receive  three  shillings  a  page.  Even  this 
was  never  paid  in  full ;  he  was  obliged  to  take  part  of  the  money 
in  engravings  and  books  and  the  publisher  failed.  It  passed 
into  other  hands,  and  many  thousands  of  copies  were  sold;  from 
all  of  which  he,  of  course,  got  nothing.  This  translation  of  the 
Reisebilder  appeared  in  Philadelphia  in  1855,  and  was  favorably 
received  by  all  reviewers.  That  Heine  himself  was  pleased  by 
it  we  have  already  learned  from  the  extract  of  the  letter  to 
Calmann-Levy  quoted  in  the  introduction.  A  fourth  edition 
appeared  in  Philadelphia  in  1863  and  a  fifth  edition  in  New 
York  in  1866.  In  all  more  than  ten  thousand  copies  were  sold 
before  the  new  edition  of  Leland's  translation  of  the  Reisebilder 
appeared  in  London  in  1891.  When  Leland  had  published  his 
translation  of  the  Reisebilder  in  1855,  Bayard  Taylor  got  a  copy 
of  it.  Taylor  went  in  company  with  Thackeray  to  New  York, 
and  told  Leland  subsequently  that  they  had  read  the  work  aloud 
between  them  alternately,  with  roars  of  laughter,  till  it  was 
finished ;  that  Thackeray  praised  the  translation  to  the  skies,  and 
that  his  comments  and  droll  remarks  on  the  text  were  delightful. 


82  Heine's  American  Translators 

Thackeray  was  a  perfect  German  scholar,  and  well  informed  as 
to  all  in  the  book. 

Leland  had  bestowed  much  care  on  cleansing  the  Reisebilder 
in  his  translation.  The  omissions  are  confined  almost  entirely 
to  what  Heine  in  later  years  himself  altered  or  rejected.  It  is 
impossible  to  perfectly  transfer  the  original  spirit  of  Heine's  glori 
fied  and  clarified  prose  in  English.  Leland's  translation  is  far 
from  being  perfect  as  regards  simplicity  of  language  allied  to 
melody  and  brilliancy,  but  Leland  did  his  best  to  reproduce  it. 

In  1891,  the  first  volume  of  Leland's  complete  translation 
of  Heine's  works  appeared  in  London.  This  volume  contained 
the  Florentine  Nights,  The  Memoirs  of  Herr  von  Schnabelezvop- 
ske,  The  Rabbi  of  Bacharach  and  Shakespeare's  Maidens  and 
Women.  Volumes  II  and  III  also  printed  in  London  in 
the  same  year,  contained  a  reprint  of  Leland's  translation  of  the 
Reisebilder,  omitting  the  poems  which  appear  in  the  Buck  der 
Lieder.  In  the  next  year.  (1892),  Volume  IV,  the  Salon  ap 
peared  in  London.  Of  this  edition  Volumes  V  and  VI  (Lon 
don,  1892),  contained  the  translation  of  Germany,  comprising, 
Religion  and  Philosophy  in  Germany,  The  Romantic  School, 
Elementary  Spirits,  Doctor  Faust,  The  Gods  in  Exile,  and  The 
Goddess  Diana.  The  following  year  (1893),  Leland's  transla 
tion  of  French  Affairs  appeared  in  London  making  up  Vol 
umes  VII  and  VIII  of  the  complete  edition  of  Heine's  prose. 
The  Family  Life  of  Heine,  edited  by  von  Embclen,  was  also  trans 
lated  by  Leland  and  published  in  London  in  1893.  This  volume 
is  a  life  of  Heine,  illustrated  by  one  hundred  and  twenty-two 
hitherto  unpublished  letters  addressed  by  Heine  to  different  mem 
bers  of  the  family.  To  many,  the  translations  from  Heine  pub 
lished  by  Leland  in  London  were  a  grievous  disappointment,  for 
they  expected  from  him  something  better.  There  are  many 
pages  in  which  the  original  seems  to  be  reproduced  with  as  much 
fidelity  and  as  much  grace  as  can  reasonably  be  expected  in  a 
translation  from  a  writer  so  difficult  as  Heine.  R.  M'Lintock  70 
in  his  review  of  Leland's  translation  of  the  Florentine  Nights, 


70  Academy,  Vol.  40,  1891,  p.  256  f. 


Heine's  American  Translators  83 

etc.  (Vol.  I),  says:  "A  better  knowledge  of  German  and  more 
care  in  the  writing  of  English  should  be  shown  by  Leland.  There 
are  readings  of  the  original  which  must  be  pronounced  utterly 
indefensible  and  there  are  English  sentences  which  come  peril 
ously  near  to  being  mere  nonsense." 

Mr.  M'Lintock  gives  some  examples  of  Leland's  inaccura 
cies  in  translating  and  thinks  that  to  find  such  absurd  passages  in 
the  work  of  a  man  already  famous  is  decidedly  discouraging. 
In  Volume  I,  Leland  has  made  some  faint  efforts  to  expurgate 
the  text,  has  omitted  half  a  page  in  one  place,  and  here  and  there 
an  odd  sentence  or  two.  Heine  is  inexpurgable,  and  squeamish 
people  had  best  have  nothing  to  do  with  him  at  all. 

In  his  translation  of  the  French  Affairs,  Leland  has  care 
fully  studied  and  compared  the  different  texts,  French  and  Ger 
man,  and  has  omitted  not  a  passage,  or  even  a  shade  of  thought 
of  any  value  in  either.  This  greatly  increased  the  labor  and  the 
difficulty  of  the  task. 

Reviewing  Leland's  translation  of  Florentine  Nights  (Vol. 
I),  Mr.  N.  S.  Simonds  71  writes:  "Mr.  Leland  gives  in  this 
volume  an  excellent  translation  of  Heine's  prose.  If  it  be  said 
in  criticism  that  Mr.  Leland  has  occasionally  coined  a  stiff  and 
unnatural  phrase  to  fit  the  German  idiom,  it  may  be  replied  that 
such  slips  are  the  fate  of  translators  generally.  Less  excusable 
is  the  intrusion  of  too  frequent  footnotes  which  repeatedly 
encumber  rather  than  illuminate  the  page." 

In  his  review  72  of  the  prose  writings  of  Heine,  W.  T. 
Brantly  criticises  Leland's  translation  as  follows:  "In  Leland's 
translation  the  felicity  and  flavor  of  the  original  is  lost,  but  it  is 
no  disparagement  to  Leland's  admirable  rendition  to  say  that 
he  has  not  achieved  the  impossible."  Mr.  W.  D.  Ho  wells  73  con 
siders  Leland's  version  of  Heine  a  great  achievement,  although 
he  disapproves  of  Leland's  commenting  the  text  with  excuses, 
explanations  and  reproaches  and  sometimes  condemnations  out 
right.  But  Howells  does  justice  to  the  fact  that  the  translator 

71  The  Dial  (Chicago),  Vol.  12,  pp.  213-215. 

72  Conservative  Review,  Vol.  I,  1899,  pp.  60-73. 

7*  Harper's  Magazine,  Vol.  107,  1903,  pp.  480-483. 


84  Heine's  American   Translators 

has  rendered  the  original  with  a  conscience  which  has  spared 
no  pains  in  comparing  the  French  texts  with  the  German  texts  in 
which  Heine  sometimes  wrote  the  original  simultaneously  or 
alternately.  Of  the  translation  as  a  whole  Howells  says:  "The 
work  done  is  one  which  a  literary  man  of  Leland's  distinct  talent 
might  well  be  content  to  have  for  his  final  work,  though  all 
would  be  sorry  to  have  the  Hans  Breitmann  Ballads  forgotten 
in  it." 

Even  the  friendliest  critic  does  not  pretend  that  Leland's 
version  is  of  an  even  texture.  They  are  all  sensible  of  a  certain 
heaviness  in  it  which  cannot  truly  render  the  original,  and  of 
certain  attempted  analogues  in  American  and  English  parlance 
which  are  not  quite  responsive  to  the  student  slang  of  the  French 
and  German.  And  yet  in  spite  of  all  the  inaccuracies,  inelegancies, 
and  shortcomings  of  Leland's  translation,  no  one  can  examine 
it  without  recognizing  the  fidelity  and  the  painstaking  fulness 
with  which  the  original  has  been  followed  and  reported.  Leland 
also  translated  Heine's  Buck  der  Lieder  and  it  appeared  in  Phila 
delphia  in  1864.  A  third  edition  was  published  in  New  York  in 
1868.  Most  of  these  songs  had  already  been  published  by  Le 
land  in  his  translation  of  the  Reisebilder  in  1855.  He  now  re 
stored  them  to  their  original  metres. 

A  man  of  varied  cultivation  and  genial  temperament,  of 
an  ardent  appreciation  of  his  author,  Leland  certainly  brought 
eminent  qualifications  to  his  labor  of  love.  He  has  fairly  justi 
fied  the  expectations  of  those  who  augured  most  highly  of  his 
success  from  their  knowledge  of  his  fitness.  Yet  we  must  assent 
to  the  axiom  of  Cervantes,  that  no  translation  of  poetry  can  be 
made  without  sensible  loss  of  that  indefinable  aroma  which  char 
acterizes  the  writing  of  masters  in  their  own  language.  Never 
theless  Leland's  versions  are  generally  faithful,  easy  and  elegant, 
conveying  with  curious  nicety,  the  tone  as  well  as  the  meaning 
of  the  original. 

The  only  poem  in  this  volume  in  which  Leland  has  departed 
from  the  original  metre  is  Das  Meer  erglanzte  weit  hinaus.74  If 


Elster,  I,  102  (Heimkehr). 


Heine's  American  Translators  85 

we  remember  that  a  great  proportion  of  words  which  are  mono 
syllables  in  English  are  two  or  three  syllables  in  German,  a  pecu 
liarity  which  renders  literal  translation  into  the  same  metre  as 
the  original,  and  into  the  same  number  of  words  almost  impossi 
ble,  we  will  be  inclined  to  forgive  Leland  for  giving  us  some 
free  renderings  and  paraphrases  instead  of  translations.  As  an 
example  of  some  of  Leland's  blunders  and  failures  to  convey  the 
proper  meaning  we  may  take  his  rendering  of  the  play  on  words 
in  the  last  lines  of  the  poem  Sei  mir  gegrusst,  du  Grosse.75  Le 
land  translates : 

Die  Thore  jedoch,  die  liessen 
Mein  Liebchen  entwischen  gar  still ; 
Ein  Thor  ist  immer  willig, 
Wenn  eine  Thorin  will. 
as  follows: 

But  the  wicket-gate  was  faithless 
Through  which  she  escaped  so  still ; 
Oh,  a  wicket  is  aways  willing 
To  ape  when  a  wicked  one  will. 

To  give  some  idea  of  Leland's  ability  as  a  translator  of 
Heine's  lyrics,  let  us  quote  the  following  specimens  as  illustrat 
ing  the  translator  at  his  best : 

Bergstimme.7* 

Ein  Reiter  durch  das  Bergthal  zieht. 

A  rider  through  the  valley  passed, 
And  sang  a  mournful  stave,—- 
"  And  ride  I  hence  to  my  true  love's  arms, 
Or  to  a  gloomy  grave?" 
The  rocks  an  echo  gave: 
"  A   gloomy   grave !" 

,     And  onward  rode  the  cavalier, 

And  still  his  sighs  increase; 
"  So  I  must  away  to  an  early  grave ! 
Well,  then — the  grave  hath  peace." 
The  echo  would  not  cease: 
'  The  grave  hath  peace." 

75Elster,  I,  104. 
"  Elster,  I,  35. 


86  Heine's  American   Translators 

And  from  the  rider's  care-worn  cheek 
A  single  tear  there  fell ; 
"  And  if  only  the  grave  has  peace  for  me, 
Why,  then, — in  the  grave  all's  well !" 
The  echo  gave  a  knell, — 
"In  the  grave  all's  well!" 

Wir  sassen  am  Fischer  hanse77 

We  sat  by  the  fisher's  cottage 
And  looked  at  the  stormy  tide: 
The  evening  mist  came  rising, 
And  floating  far  and  wide. 

One  by  one  in  the  lighthouse 
The  lamps  shone  out  on  high; 
And  far  on  the  dim  horizon 
A  ship  went  sailing  by. 

We  spoke  of  storm  and  shipwreck, 
Of  sailors  who  live  on  the  deep, 
And  how  between  sky  and  water 
And  terror  and  joy  they  sweep. 

We  spoke  of  distant  countries, 
In  regions  strange  and  fair, 
And  of  the  wondrous  beings 
And  curious  customs  there ; 

Of  perfumes  and  lights  on  the  Ganges, 
Where  trees  like  giants  tower, 
And  of  beautiful  silent  beings 
Who  kneel  to  the  lotus-flower; 

Of  the  wretched  dwarfs  of  Lapland, 
Broad-headed,  wide-mouthed,  and  small, 
Who  crouch  round  their  oil-fires,  cooking, 
And  chatter  and  scream  and  bawl. 

And  the  maidens  earnestly  listened, 
Till  at  last  we  spoke  no  more: 
The  ship  like  a  shadow  had  vanished, 
And  darkness  fell  on  the  shore. 


77  Elster,  I,  98. 


Heine's  American  Translators  87 

During  the  progress  of  his  translation  of  the  Book  of  Songs, 
Leland  had  access  to  the  various  translations  from  Heine's  lyrics, 
by  Baskerville,  Furness  78  and  Bowring.  The  influence  thus 
exerted  on  his  translations  is  clearly  discernible  and  the  numer 
ous  resemblances  and  uses  of  the  same  tricks  in  translating, 
cannot  be  said  to  be  accidental. 

PUTNAM'S  MONTHLY  MAGAZINE. 

(Vol.  VI,  1855,  p.  475  f.) 

This  fascinating  review  of  Heine's  works  contains  a  few 
specimens  of  translation  that  have  not  been  surpassed  in  some 
respects.     Very  few  versions  have  rendered  the  subtle  rhythm 
of  Heine's  exquisite  lyrics  with  such  spirit  and  charm.     Take 
for  example  the  translation  of  the  Lorelei: 
I  know  not  what  it  presages, 
That  I  should  be  saddened  so ; 
A  legend  of  long  passed  ages 
Haunts  me,  and  will  not  go. 

Tis  cool,  and  the  dusk  is  growing, 
And  quietly  flows  the  Rhine; 
In  the  sunset's  golden  glowing 
The  peaks  of  the  mountains  shine. 

Far  up  in  the  golden  beaming 
Sits  the  maiden  divinely  fair ; 
The  gold  in  her  robes  is  gleaming, 
She  is  combing  her  golden  hair. 

With  a  golden  comb  and  glancing 
She  is  combing  her  tresses  there; 
And  she  singeth  a  song  entrancing, 
A  weird  and  wonderful  air ! 

The  heart  of  the  boatman  that  hears  it 
Grows  wild  with  a  passionate  love; 
He  sees  not  the  rock  as  he  nears  it, 
He  sees  but  the  siren  above! 

The  waves  to  their  fatal  embraces 
Take  the  boat  and  the  boatman  too; 
Such  work  with  her  musical  graces, 
It  pleases  the  Lorelei  to  do ! 


78  Gems  from   German   Verse,  translated  by   W.   H.   Furness.     Philadel 
phia,    1860. 


88  Heine's  American  Translators 

This  translation  possesses  many  merits  not  found  in  others. 
It  is,  indeed,  a  lame  attempt  to  do  the  immortal  poem  into  Eng 
lish,  because  it  is  far  from  literal.  But,  whatever  fault  we  may 
find  with  the  translation,  we  must  acknowledge  that  it  is  faithful 
to  the  spirit  of  the  original.  This  was  the  first  version  in  which 
the  foreboding  force  of  the  word  "bedeuten,"  in  the  first  line, 
was  preserved.  The  gleam  of  mocking  gayety  which  breaks  out 
in  the  last  verse,  has  been  invariably  lost  by  the  translators.  The 
ending  of  the  song  indicates  Heine's  individuality.  He  seems 
to  throw  off  the  brief  mood  of  romance  and  returns  to  skepticism 
and  satire. 

The  reviewer  also  gives  a  translation  of  some  verses  written 
by  Heine  on  the  Jewish  Hospital  at  Hamburg.  As  a  keynote  to 
the  Reisebilder,  the  reviewer  gives  the  following  translations  from 
the  Heimkehr  (Elster,  I,  95  f.)  : 

In  mein  gar  zu  dunkles  Leben.19 

On  my  life,  too  dark  and  gloomy, 
Once  there  gleamed  a  vision  bright, 
Now  that  vision  bright  hath  vanished, 
And  I  stand  in  utter  night. 

When  a  child  in  lonely  darkness 
Feels  its  terrors  on  him  crowd, 
He,  to  chase  his  doubts  and  horror, 
Shouts  some  cheerful  song  aloud. 

So  a  noisy  child,  I'm  singing, 
While  in  shade  and  gloom  I  stray; 
Though  my  song  be  not  delightful, 
Yet  it  drives  my  fears  away !" 

Sag,  wo  ist  dein  schones  Liebchen.SQ 

Say !  where  is  thy  fair  beloved, 
Once  by  thee  so  sweetly  sung, 
When  the  magic  flames  of  passion 
Through  thy  spirit  flashed  and  sprung. 


"Elster,  1,95- 
"Elster,  I,  134. 


Heine's  American  Translators  89 

Oh!  those  flames  have  sunk  and  faded, 
And  my  heart  is  dull  and  cold ; 
And  this  book,  an  urn  funereal, 
Ashes  of  my  love  doth  hold! 

W.  H.  FURNESS. 

Undoubtedly  the  best  translation  into  English  of  Heine's 
Nach  Frankreich  20 gen  swei  Grenadier  is  the  one  made  by  W.  H. 
Furness,  and  was  first  printed  in  his  volume  of  translations  en 
titled  Gems  from  German  Verse,  Philadelphia,  1860.  This  excel 
lent  translation  of  the  Two  Grenadiers  was  subsequently  reprinted 
in  the  collection  of  translations  entitled  Pearls  from  Heine  (Phil 
adelphia,  1865).  After  making  some  trifling  changes,  Furness 
incorporated  this  translation  together  with  his  translation  of  the 
Lorelei  into  his  volume  of  Verses,  Translations  from  the  German 
and  Hymns,  which  appeared  in  Boston  in  1886.  Disregarding  the 
few  faulty  rhymes,  these  translations  may  be  regarded  as  attain 
ing  perfection,  since  they  are  remarkably  faithful  to  the  letter, 
form  and  spirit  of  the  original.  To  make  a  good  translation  of 
the  Two  Grenadiers  is  extremely  difficult,  because  the  rhythm  of 
each  line  answers  exactly  to  the  mood  and  matter — the  mournful 
iambics,  "Der  Andre  sprach !  das  Lied  ist  aus ;  the  fiery  anapaests : 
Dann  reitet  mein  Kaiser  wohl  iiber  mein  Grab" — the  wildness  of 
the  strophe  "Was  schert  mich  Weib,  was  schert  mich  Kind,"  have 
been  but  seldom  well  rendered  by  translators. 

In  his  translation  of  the  Lorelei,  Furness  has  been  successful 
in  conveying  the  foreboding  effect  of  the  word  "bedeuten"  in  the 
first  line,  and  in  reproducing  the  anti-climax  and  mocking  gayety 
of  the  last  lines.  As  an  indication  of  Furness's  ability  as  a  trans 
lator  of  German  lyrics,  we  will  quote  his  two  translations  from 
Heine : 

Nach  Frankreich  so  gen  zwei  Grenadier. 
(The  Two  Grenadiers.) 

To  France  were  travelling  two  grenadiers, 
From  prison  in  Russia  returning, 
And  when  they  came  to  the  German  frontiers 
They  hung  down  their  heads  in  mourning. 


90  Heine 's  American  Translators 

There  came  the  heart-breaking  news  in  their  ears 
That  France  was  by  fortune  forsaken ; 
Scattered  and  slain  were  her  brave  grenadiers, 
And  Napoleon,  Napoleon  was  taken. 

Then  wept  together  those  two  grenadiers, 
O'er  their  country's  departed  glory; 
"Woe's  me,"  cried  one,  in  the  midst  of  his  tears, 
"My  old  wound, — how  it  burns  at  the  story!" 

The  other  said,  "The  end  has  come, 
What  avails  any  longer  living? 
Yet  have  I  a  wife  and  child  at  home, 
For  an  absent  father  grieving. 

"Who  cares  for  wife?     Who  cares  for  child? 
Dearer  thoughts  in  my  bosom  awaken; 
Go  beg,  wife  and  child,  when  with  hunger  wild, 
For  Napoleon,  Napoleon  is  taken ! 

"Oh,  grant  me,  brother,  my  only  prayer, 
When  death  my  eyes  is  closing : 
Take  me  to  France,  and  bury  me  there ; 
In  France  be  my  ashes  reposing. 

"This  cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honor  bright, 
Let  it  be  near  my  heart,  upon  me ; 
Give  me  my  musket  in  my  hand, 
And  gird  my  sabre  on  me. 

"So  will  I  lie,  and  arise  no  more, 
My  watch  like  a  sentinel  keeping. 
Till  I  hear  the  cannon's  thundering  roar, 
And  the  squadrons  above  me  sweeping. 

"Then  the  Emperor  comes !  and  his  banners  wave, 
With  their  eagles  o'er  him  bending; 
And  I  will  come  forth,  all  in  arms,  from  my  grave, 
Napoleon,  Napoleon  attending!" 

Ich  weiss  nicht  was  soil  es  bedeuten. 
(Lorelei.) 

I  do  not  know  what  it  foretelleth 
I  am  so  sad  at  heart, 
My  mind  on  a  legend  dwelleth, 
That  comes  and  will  not  depart. 


Heine's  American  Translators  91 

The  air  is  cool  in  the  twilight, 
And  the  Rhine  flows  smoothly  on. 
The  peaks  of  the  mountains  sparkle 
In  the  glow  of  the  evening  sun. 

High  on  yon  rock  reclineth 
A  maiden  strangely  fair, 
Her  golden  apparel  shineth, 
She  combs  her  golden  hair. 

With  a  golden  comb  she  combs  it, 
A  song  the  while  sings  she ; 
All  weird  and  wondrous  is  it, 
And  mighty  the  melody. 

The  boatman,  as  it  comes  o'er  him, 
It  seizes  with  fierce  delight; 
He  heeds  not  the  rocks  before  him, 
His  gaze  is  fixed  on  the  height. 

I  believe  in  the  end  that  the  billows 
O'er  the  boatman  and  boat  roll  high; 
And  this  with  her  fearful  singing 
Was  done  by  the  Lorelei. 

CHRISTOPHER  P.  CRANCH. 

This  American  landscape  painter,  poet  and  translator  was 
the  son  of  William  Cranch,  the  eminent  jurist,  Chief  Justice  of 
the  Circuit  Court  for  the  District  of  Columbia,  1805-1855.  Chris 
topher  P.  Cranch  was  born  in  Virginia  in  1813  and  died  at 
Cambridge,  Mass.,  in  1892.  He  entered  the  ministry,  but  soon 
retired  to  devote  himself  to  art.  He  published  Poems  (1844), 
The  Bird  and  the  Bell  (1875),  Ariel  and  Caliban  (1887),  and 
prose  tales  for  children.  Some  of  his  translations  are  excellent. 
His  translation  of  Heine's  Lorelei  may  be  found  in  the  volume 
entitled  Folk  Songs,  edited  by  J.  W.  Palmer,  New  York,  1861. 
This  version  is  quite  literal,  but  the  last  strophe  is  badly  rendered. 
Heine's  individuality,  so  completely  preserved  in  the  half  smile 
which  plays  upon  his  lips  as  he  ends  his  song,  is  lost  in  Cranch's 
rendition. 


g2  Heine's  American  Translators 

The  Lorelei. 

I  know  not  what  it  presages, 
This  heart  with  sadness  fraught; 
Tis  a  tale  of  the  olden  ages, 
That  will  not  from  my  thought. 

The  air  grows  cool  and  darkles; 
The  Rhine  flows  calmly  on; 
The  mountain  summit  sparkles 
In  the  light  of  the  setting  sun. 

There  sits  in  soft  reclining, 
A  maiden  wondrous  fair, 
With  golden  raiment  shining, 
And  combing  her  golden  hair. 

With  a  comb  of  gold  she  combs  it ; 
And  combing,  low  singeth  she, 
A  song  of  a  strange,  sweet  sadness, 
A  wonderful  melody. 

The  sailor  shudders,  as  o'er  him 
The  strain  comes  floating  by; 
He  sees  not  the  cliffs  before  him, 
He  only  looks  on  high. 

Ah !  round  him  the  dark  waves,  flinging 
Their  arms,  draw  him  slowly  down ; 
And  this,  with  her  wild,  sweet  singing, 
The  Lorelei  has  done. 

SIDNEY  LANIER  (±842-1881). 

This  well-known  American  poet,  critic  and  litterateur,  al 
though  possessing  a  good  knowledge  of  German,  has  given  us 
only  two  metrical  translations  from  that  language.  Lanier  wrote 
a  sonnet  in  German  to  Nannette  Falk-Auerbach.  This  sonnet 
was  originally  written  in  German  and  published  in  a  German  daily 
of  Baltimore,  while  the  author's  translation  appeared  at  the  same 
time  in  the  Baltimore  Gazette.  The  two  translations,  which  he 
made  from  the  German,  are  Herder's  Spring  Greeting  and 
Heine's  Ein  Fichtenbaum  steht  einsam.  Few  poems  surpass  this 
lyric  either  in  beauty  and  simplicity  of  form  or  depth  of  expres 
sion.  How  felicitously  Lanier  has  rendered  these  characteristics 


Heine's  American  Translators  93 

may  be  seen  from  his  rendition,  which  follows.     It  is  dated  1864 
and  was  made  by  Lanier  while  at  Point  Lookout  Prison : 

The  Palm  and  the  Pine.81 

In  the  far  North  stands  a  Pine-tree,  lone, 
Upon  a  wintry  height ; 
It  sleeps ;  around  it  snows  have  thrown 
A  covering  of  white. 

It  dreams  forever  of  a  Palm 
That  far  i'  the  Morning-land, 
Stands  silent  in  a  most  sad  calm, 
Midst  of  the  burning  sand. 

THEODORE  PARKER  (1810-1860). 

This  noted  American  clergyman,  lecturer,  reformer  and 
author  was  born  in  Lexington,  Mass.,  and  died  in  Florence,  Italy. 
He  was  a  conspicuous  advocate  of  the  abolition  of  slavery  and 
rendered  his  country  its  debtor  by  his  eminent  service  in  that 
cause. 

Some  of  Parker's  translations  of  German  poetry  are  remark 
ably  well  done,  but  many  are  left  in  an  imperfect  condition. 
There  are  specimens  from  Hymns  of  the  Mystics,  of  Paul  Ger- 
hardt,  from  the  poetry  of  the  Boy's  Wonder-Horn,  from  Schwab, 
Simon  Dach,  Popular  Collections,  Riickert,  Korner,  Geibel,  Opitz 
and  Heine.  Some  translations  from  Heine,  which  he  made  while 
he  was  meditating  an  article  upon  that  poet,  are  well  done.  The 
translations  from  Parker,  which  we  shall  quote,  are  taken  from 
The  Life  and  Correspondence  of  Theodore  Parker,  by  John 
Weiss,  New  York,  1864  (Vol.  II,  31-36).  Here  is  Parker's 
version  of  Heine's  "Vorrede  zur  dritten  Auflage"  of  his  Buch 
der  Lieder  (1839),  beginning  with  the  line,  "Das  ist  der  alte 
Marchenwald." 

This  is  the  old  poetic  wood; 
The  linden's  breath  comes  stealing; 
And  glancing  wondrously,  the  moon 
Enchanteth  every  feeling. 


*  Poems  by  Sidney  Lanier,  edited  by  his  wife.    New  York,  1899,  p.  232. 


94  Heine's  American  Translators 

I  walked  therein,  and  as  I  went 
Above  I  heard  a  quiring: 
It  was  the  nightingale;  she  sang 
Of  love  and  love's  desiring. 

She  sang  of  love  and  love's  woe, 
Of  laughter  and  of  weeping ; 
She  joy'd  so  sadly,  plain' d  so  gay, 
That  dreams  came  back  from  sleeping. 

I  walked  therein  and  as  I  went, 
Before  me  saw,  extending 
In  ample  space,  a  castle  huge, 
Its  gables  high  ascending. 

Windows  were  closed,  and  everywhere 
A   silence   and   a  mourning, 
As  if  in  those  deserted  walls 
Was  quiet  death  sojourning. 

Before  the  door  a  sphinx  there  lay, 
Part  joy,  part  fear,  half  human; 
Body  and  claws  a  lion's  were, 
The  breast  and  head,  a  woman, — 

A  woman  fair;  her  pallid  face 
Spoke  of  most  wild  desiring; 
The  silent  lips  were  arched  with  smiles, 
A  tranquil  trust  inspiring. 

The  nightingale,  too,  sweetly  sang, 
Could  I  resist  her?     Never! 
But  as  I  kissed  the  handsome  face 
My  peace  was  gone  forever! 

Living  became  the  marble  form, 
The  stone  began  to  shiver, 
She  drank  my  kisses'  fiery  glow 
With  thirsty  lips  that  quiver. 

She  almost  drank  away  my  breath, 
And  then,  with  passion  bending, 
She  coiled  me  round,  my  mortal  flesh 
With  lion-talons  rending. 


Heine's  American  Translators  95 

Ecstatic  torture,  woeful  bliss! 
Joy,  anguish,  without  measure! 
And  while  the  talons  grimly  tear, 
Her  kisses  give  such  pleasure! 

The  nightingale  sang,  "Handsome  sphinx ! 

0  Love,  what  is  intended— 
That  all  thy  blessed  beatitudes 
With  death-throes  thou  hast  blended  ? 

"Oh,  handsome  sphinx,  come  solve  for  me 
The  riddle,  tell  the  wonder ! 
For  many  a  thousand  years  thereon 
Thought  I,  and  still  I  ponder." 

Parker  also  gave  us  an  impromptu  translation  from  memory 
of  Heine's  Lorelei.  How  musically  Parker  could  render  Heine's 
lyrics  is  well  illustrated  by  his  admirable  translations  of  Und 
zviissten's  die  Blumen,  die  kleinen;  Du  hast  Diamanten  und  Pcr- 
len;  Die  Linde  bluhte,  die  Nachtigall  sang;  Du  bist  wie  cine 
Blnme  and  Mein,  ivir  war  en  Kind+er,  of  which  we  shall  only  quote 
the  last  two  as  perhaps  presenting  Parker  at  his  best  in  translating 
Heine.  These  two  matchless  lyrics  have  not  been  better  trans 
lated  into  English. 

Du  bist  wie  cine  Blnme. 

Thou  art  a  little  flower, 
So  pure,  and  fair,  and  gay, 

1  look  on  thee,  and  sadness 
Steals  to  my  heart  straightway. 

My  hands  I  feel  directed 
Upon  thy  head  to  lay, 
Praying  that  God  may  keep  thee 
So  pure  and  fair  and  gay. 

Mein,  zvir  waren  Kinder. 

My  child,  when  we  were  children, 
Two  children  small  and  gay, 
We  crept  into  the  hen-house 
And  laid  us  under  the  hay. 


96  Heine's  American  Translators 

We  crow'd  as  do  the  cockerels, 
When  people  passed  the  wood, 
"  Ki-ker-ki!"  and  they  fancied 
It  was  the  cock  that  crow'd. 

The  chests  which  lay  in  the  court-yard, 
We  paper'd  them  as  fair, 
Making  a  house  right  famous, 
And  dwelt  together  there. 

The  old  cat  .of  our  neighbor 
Oft  came  to  make  a  call; 
We  made  her  bow  and  courtesy, 
And  compliment  and  all. 

We  ask'd  with  friendly  question, 
How  she  was  getting  on; 
To  many  an  ancient  pussy, 
The  same  we  since  have  done. 

In  sensible  discoursing 

We  sat  like  aged  men, 

And  told  how,  in  our  young  days, 

All  things  had  better  been. 

That  faith,  love,  and  religion 
From  earth  are  vanish'd  quite, 
And  told  how  dear  is  coffee, 
And  money  is  so  tight. 

But  gone  are  childish  gambols, 
And  all  things  fleeting  prove; 
Money,  the  world,  our  young  days, 
Religion,  truth,  and  love. 

HIRAM  CORSON. 

The  two  translations,  which  Mr.  Corson  made  of  Heine's 
songs,  are  to  be  found  in  Pearls  from  Heine,  Philadelphia,  1865. 
This  pamphlet  is  not  readily  accessible,  but  may  be  found  in  the 
library  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society.  In  this  volume  of 
translations  Corson  has  contributed  his  versions  of  Ich  stand 
gelehnt  an  dem  Mast,  and  Am  Fenster  stand  die  Mutter  (Wall- 
fahrt  nach  Kevlaar).  Both  are  admirably  done,  and  the  sim 
plicity  and  melodious  gliding  of  the  rhythm  are  well  reproduced. 


Heine's  American  Translators  97 

We  would  gladly  cite  both  translations,  but  owing  to  the  length 
of  die  Wallfahrt  nach  Kevlaar,  we  must  content  our  self  with  only 
the  first,  which,  however,  will  amply  attest  the  merits  of  Corson's 
ability. 

Ich  stand  gelehnt  an  dem  Mast. 

I  stand  supported  by  the  mast, 
And  watch  the  wavelets  free. 
Adieu,  my  beauteous  Fatherland! 
My  ship  sails  fast  from  thee! 

I'm  gliding  by  my  loved  one's  home, 
That  looks  upon  the  sea ; 
I  wildly  gaze  at  its  glistening  panes, 
But  no  hand  waves  to  me. 

Away,  ye  tears !  from  my  eyes  away ! 
That  I  may  clearly  see; 
My  fainting  heart,  be  stout  and  strong, 
And  fail  not  now  to  me. 

J.  W.  MONTCLAIR. 

We  have  only  been  able  to  find  one  translation  from  Heine 
by  Montclair,  and  this  in  the  volume  before  mentioned,  Pearls 
from  Heine.  Consequently  we  can  say  but  little  regarding  this 
translator.  With  the  exception  of  three  lines,  the  translation  is 
remarkably  accurate  and  liberal,  and  preserves  the  spirit  and  tone 
of  the  original  admirably. 

Auf  Flilgeln  des  Gesanges. 

On  wings  of  song  and  music, 
Beloved,  I'd  waft  thee  away 
To  the  flowering  banks  of  Ganges, 
Forever  blooming  and  gay. 

Its  floral  realm  shall  receive  thee, 
Illumed  by  the  silent  moon ; 
There  the  lotus-flowers  are  longing 
To  greet  their  companion  soon. 

There  violets  nod  and  titter, 
Or  gaze  on  the  stars  above; 
And  roses  with  eloquent  fragrance. 
Recount  their  legends  of  love. 


98  Heine's  American  Translators 

Within  the  spice-groves  are  lurking 
The  innocent,  cunning  gazelles ; 
And  distant  is  heard  the  rushing 
Of  the  holy  tide  as  it  swells. 

Under  the  palm  will  we  linger, 
Housed  from  the  open  skies; 
In  raptures  of  love  and  contentment, 
Dreaming  with  open  eyes. 

WM.  H.  FURNESS,  JR. 

Wm.  H.  Furness,  Jr.,  the  brother  of  Horace  Howard 
Furness,  also  contributed  one  translation  to  the  Pearls  from 
Heine — namely,  the  translation  of  the  poem  from  the  Lyrical 
Intermezzo,  beginning  with  the  line  "Die  Lotusblume  angstigt." 
This  translation  possesses  all  the  distinguished  characteristics  of 
the  other  translations  in  the  Pearls  from  Heine,  and  we  can 
hardly  refrain  from  expressing  our  regret  that  we  have  not  more 
versions  from  Heine  by  the  same  men. 

The  Lotus-Flower. 
(Die  Lotus-Blume  angstigt). 

The  lotus-flower  pineth 
Beneath  day's  splendor  bright : 
With  head  all  bent  and  drooping, 
Dreaming,  she  waits  the  night. 

The  moon,  who  is  her  lover, 
Awakes  her  with  its  light, 
And  she  lifteth  to  it  fondly 
Her  lily  face  so  white. 

She  blooms,  and  glows,  and  glistens, 
And  gazes  calmly  above; 
She  sighs,  and  weeps  and  trembles, 
From  love  and  the  pain  of  love. 

T.  EMBLET  OSMUN. 

Once  more  are  we  placed  in  the  embarrassing  situation  of 
endeavoring  to  form  a  judgment  of  a  man's  ability  as  a  trans 
lator  with  only  one  specimen  extant.  This  is  his  translation  of 


Heine's  American  Translators  99 

Heine's  Du  bist  wie  eine  Blume,  so  often  badly  rendered  even 
by  excellent  translators.  That  Osmun's  version  is  far  from  per 
fect  will  be  obvious  after  examination.  His  translation  is  to  be 
found  in  Pearls  from  Heine. 

Du  bist  wie  eine  Blume. 

Thou  art  as  some  fair  flower, 
So  chaste,  so  gay,  so  sweet: 
I  look  on  thee,  and  Sorrow 
Finds  in  my  heart  a  seat. 

I  feel  as  I  were  prompted 
On  thy  head  my  hands  to  lay, 
And  pray  to  God  to  keep  thee 
So  sweet,  so  chaste,  so  gay. 

KATE  HILLARD. 

In  her  article  on  Heine  in  Lippincott's  Magazine  (Vol.  X, 
pp.  187  f. ),  Kate  Hillard  gives  a  few  specimens  of  translation. 
She  finds  the  mournful  secret  of  Heine's  poetic  strength  in  the 
words  of  the  poem,  Aus  meinen  Thrdnen  spriessen  (Elster,  I, 
66),  which  she  renders  rather  poorly,  especially  the  first  strophe,  in 
which  neither  the  rhythm  nor  the  meaning  is  accurately  or  felici 
tously  translated.  The  second  strophe  is  a  decided  improvement : 

Aus  meinen  Thrdnen  spriessen. 

From  my  tears  sweet  flowers  are  springing 
All  over  the  blossoming  dales, 
And  my  sighs  are  changed  by  magic 
To  a  chorus  of  nightingales. 

And  if  thou  wilt  love  me,  darling, 
To  thee  the  flowers  I'll  bring, 
And  before  thy  chamber  window 
The  nightingales  shall  sing. 

This  hardly  conveys  the  effect  of  Heine's  poetry,  the  subtle 
aroma  of  beauty  has  fled,  which  is  the  greatest  charm  of  the 
poem.  Far  more  successful  is  her  rendering  of  the  often  trans 
lated  beginning  of  the  Nachts  in  der  Kajute  (Elster,  I,  171 ),  the 
perfection  of  whose  melody  it  is  impossible  to  reproduce. 


ioo  Heine's  American   Translators 

Das  Meer  hat  seine  Perlen. 

The  sea  hath  its  pearls, 
The  heavens  have  their  stars, 
But  my  heart,  my  heart, 
My  heart  has  its  love. 

Great  are  the  sea  and  the  heavens, 
But  greater  is  my  heart, 
And  brighter  than  pearls  or  stars 
Sparkles  and  glows  my  love. 

Thou  youthful  little  maiden, 
Come  to  my  mighty  heart: 
My  heart  and  the  sea  and  the  heavens 
Are  melting  away  with  love. 

While  she  failed  to  reproduce  the  exquisite  melody  of  the 
above-cited  poem  by  neglecting  the  feminine  endings  and  rhymes, 
she  certainly  secured  literal  exactness  of  meaning  in  the  very 
rhyme  and  rhythm  of  the  original  in  her  translation  of  the  poem 
beginning  with  the  line  Mit  schwarzen  Segeln  segelt  mein  Schiff 
(Elster,  I,  229),  which  she  translates  as  follows: 

With  black  sails  hoisted,  sails  my  ship 
Far  over  the  tossing  tea: 
Thou  knowest  well  how  sad  I  am, 
Yet  still  tormentest  me. 

Thy  heart  is  faithless  as  the  wind, 
It  changes  unceasingly: 
With  black  sails  hoisted,  sails  my  ship 
Far  over  the  tossing  sea. 

JOHN  B.  PHILLIPS. 

John  B.  Phillips  was  a  native  of  Kennet,  Pa.,  and  a  friend 
of  Bayard  Taylor.  Many  of  the  most  confidential  letters  written 
by  Taylor  in  early  life  were  addressed  to  Phillips.  After  study 
ing  medicine  in  Paris,  Phillips  settled  in  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  where 
he  passed  the  rest  of  his  life  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  and 
in  the  office  of  State  Commissioner  of  Statistics.  He  was  a  man 
of  strong  character,  and  of  marked  literary  tastes,  as  his  trans- 


Heine's  American  Translators  101 

lations  from  Heine  and  other  German  poets  as  well  as  his  own 
sonnets  show.  Dr.  Phillips  died  at  the  age  of  fifty-six,  April  27, 
1877.  Bayard  Taylor  wrote  in  the  New  York  Tribune  an 
obituary  notice  of  his  friend. 

WILLIAM  WETMORE  STORY. 

W.  W.  Story  was  born  at  Salem,  Mass.,  in  1819,  and  died 
in  Italy  in  1895.  ^e  was  tne  son  °f  Joseph  Story,  the  eminent 
American  jurist,  and  achieved  considerable  fame  as  a  sculptor  and 
poet.  In  the  Poets  and  Poetry  of  Europe,  by  H.  W.  Longfellow 
(Philadelphia,  1870),  on  page  351,  we  find  the  following  transla 
tion,  by  W.  W.  Story,  of  Heine's  poem,  Ein  Fichtenbaum 
steht  einsam  (Elster,  I,  78)  : 

A  lonely  fir-tree  standeth 
On  a  height  where  north  winds  blow, 
It  sleepeth,  with  whitened  garment, 
Enshrouded  by  ice  and  snow. 
It  dreameth  of  a  palm-tree, 
That  far  in  the  Eastern  land, 
Lonely  and  silent,  mourneth 
On  its  burning  shelf  of  sand. 

SIMON  ADLER  STERN. 

The  scintillations  82  Stern  gives  us  are  passages  from  essays 
and  letters  not  before  translated,  and  that  weird,  romantic  mono 
logue  called  Florentine  Nights.  In  this  translation  Heine  loses 
that  softness  of  outline,  that  play  of  light  and  shadow,  which 
characterize  him;  he  becomes  harsh,  sharp,  sometimes  shabby, 
and  you  see  how  occasionally  he  forces  his  fantastic  attitudes. 
However,  there  are  passages  of  the  Florentine  Nights  which  do 
not  suffer  mortally  from  translation,  and  one  of  these  is  that 
very  Heinesque  hit  where  Max  tells  of  his  passion  for  the 
beautiful  statue  which  he  found  when  a  boy  in  the  neglected 
garden  of  his  mother's  chateau.  The  other  scintillations  are  as 
satisfactory  as  such  selections  can  very  well  be;  but  each  lover 

*  Scintillations   from    the    Prose    Works    of   Hcinrich   Heine,    translated 
from  the  German  by  S.  A.  Stern.     New  York,  1873. 


IO2  Heine's  American  Translators 

of  Heine  will  find  fault  with  them,  as  not  the  best,  and,  in  his 
turn,  would  doubtless  choose  passages  which  Stern  would  have 
condemned.  The  book  is  prefaced  by  a  very  sensibly  written 
sketch  of  Heine's  life  and  some  study  of  his  genius;  and  this 
also  will  not  meet  with  much  favor  from  Heine's  habitual 
readers.  Indeed,  Heine  lends  himself  as  little  as  any  author 
that  ever  lived  to  the  purposes  of  the  biographer  or  critic  per 
haps,  because  he  has  himself  so  thoroughly  done  the  work  of 
autobiography  and  self-criticism,  that  nothing  really  remains 
for  others. 

The  Nation  in  a  review  of  Stern's  translation  says:  "Mr. 
Stern  has  succeeded  in  putting  Heine  into  an  English  dress,  and 
in  doing  it  so  well  that  those  who  read  the  great  original  will 
still  find  pleasure  in  seeing  with  what  ingenuity  and  studious 
zeal  our  uncouth  English  has  been  subdued  to  the  interpretations 
of  the  wittiest  of  Germans,  and  the  most  delicate  of  word- 
painters  in  French  or  German."  By  giving  excerpts,  in  brief 
compass,  as  Stern  does  in  the  latter  part  of  the  volume,  there 
is  left  on  the  reader's  mind  an  impression  of  abruptness  and 
forced  wit,  as  if  Heine  were  constantly  attempting  to  be  epigram 
matic;  whereas,  part  of  the  greatest  charm  of  Heine's  style  are 
the  flashes  of  wit  and  humor,  touches  of  pathos,  profound  philo 
sophical  thoughts,  beautiful  word  pictures,  stinging  sarcasms — 
all  linked  together  by  the  most  natural  and  ingenious  gradations. 
Of  all  writers,  Heine  most  abounds  in  startling  surprises,  para 
doxes,  and  anti-climaxes,  yet  such  is  his  marvellous  skill  of  com 
bination  that  amid  all  his  extravagant  fancies  nothing  seems 
forced  or  unreal.  No  writer  better  bears  being  quoted  in  brief, 
witty  excerpts,  yet  none  loses  more  by  such  treatment  than  Heine. 

J.   M.   MERRICK. 

After  Merrick  was  graduated  from  Harvard  University, 
as  Bachelor  of  Science,  he  became  instructor  in  Chemistry  in  the 
Lawrence  Scientific  School.  In  1874  he  published  in  Boston 
his  specimens  of  translations  in  a  volume  entitled,  Nugae  Inutiles 
This  book  contains  translations  from  Horace,  Catullus,  Homei 
and  Heine.  The  original  Latin  or  German  words  are  followed 


Heine's  American  Translators  103 

by  metrical  translations  into  English.  Merrick's  translations 
are,  for  the  most  part,  faithful  to  the  letter  and  form,  although 
he  often  fails  to  reproduce  the  melody  and  spirit.  As  a  speci 
men  of  his  skill  as  a  translator  let  us  cite  his  version  of  Ich  bin  die 
Prinzessin  Use  (Elster,  I,  159). 

Princess  Use  (pages  116-119). 

I  am  the  Princess  Use, 
And  I  live  in  Ilsenstein, 
Come  with  me  to  my  castle, 
And  a  happy  lot  is  thine. 

Thy  head  will  I  besprinkle 
With  water  fresh  and  fair : 
Thy  sorrow  all  thou  shalt  forget, 
Though  sick  at  heart  with  care. 

My  soft  white  arms  shall  hold  thee 
Close  to  my  whiter  breast, 
And  lulled  with  dreams  of  fairyland, 
Thou  there  shalt  take  thy  rest. 

I  will  kiss  thee  and  embrace  thee, 
As  I  kissed  and  held  the  head 
Of  the  noble  Emperor  Henry, 
Who  now  is  with  the  dead. 

The  dead  are  dead  and  buried, 
And  only  the  living  live ; 
But  I  am  fair  and  blooming, 
With  a  merry  heart  to  give. 

My  heart  throbs  neath  the  water, 
And  my  crystal  castle  rings : 
The  knight  with  the  ladies  dances, 
The  squire  huzzas  and  sings. 

'Mid  the  rustle  of  silken  dresses, 

The  clatter  of  spurs  is  heard; 

And  with  fiddles  and  horns  and  kettle-drums 

The  listener's  blood  is  stirred. 

But  thee  shall  the  arms  encircle 
That  held  the  Emperor  fast, 
And  stopped  his  ears  with  their  fingers 
When  I  heard  the  trumpets'  blast. 


IO4  Heine's  American  Translators 

For  I  am  the  Princess  Use, 
And  in  Ilsenstein  I  dwell: 
Come  home  with  me  to  my  castle 
And  all  with  thee  shall  be  well. 

To  point  out  some  of  the  shortcomings  of  Merrick's  rendi 
tions  we  need  only  mention  a  few  examples.  In  the  last  line  of 
the  fifth  strophe,  "Mein  lachendes  Herze  bebt,"  is  badly  rendered 
by  the  line  'With  a  merry  heart  to  give."  Still  worse  is  Mer 
rick's  perversion  of  the  meaning  in  his  translation  of  strophe  six : 

Komm  in  mein  Schloss  herunter, 
In  mein  Kristallenes   Schloss. 
Dort  tanzen  die  Fraulein  und  Ritter, 
Es  jubelt  der  Knappentross. 

The  third  line  in  both  the  second  and  the  third  strophes, 
has  the  wrong  metre.  Somewhat  better  is  Merrick's  translation 
of  Die  Jungfrau  schldft  in  der  Kammer  (Elster,  I,  106)  : 

The  maiden  sleeps  in  her  chamber, 
The  tremulous  moon  looks  in; 
Outside  is  singing  and  ringing, 
And  waltzing  tunes  begin. 

"  I  will  look  and  see  from  my  window 
Who  troubles  my  rest  outside." 
A  skeleton  stands  in  the  moonlight  there, 
And  fiddles  and  sings  beside. 

"  Thou  didst  promise  me  a  dance  once, 
And  thy  word  thou  dost  not  keep, 
Tonight  is  a  ball  in  the  churchyard. 
We'll  dance  while  other  folk  sleep." 

He  seizes  the  maiden  roughly, 
And  pulls  her  out  of  her  bed : 
She  follows  the  bones  that,  singing 
And  fiddling,  stride  ahead. 

He  fiddles  and  dances  and  capers, 
And   rattles   his   bones   long   dead, 
And  horridly  in  the  moonlight 
Keeps  nodding  and  nodding  his  head. 


Heine's  American  Translators  105 

Other  translations  from  Heine  in  this  volume  by  Merrick 
are:  Die  Rose,  die  Lilie,  die  Taube,  die  Sonne,  Freundschaft, 
Liebe,  Stein  der  Weiscn,  Mensch  verspotte  nicht  den  Teufel, 
Das  ist  des  Fruhlings  traurige  Lust  and  Sapphire  sind  die  Augen 
dein,  of  which  we  shall  only  quote  the  last  one: 

Sapphires  are  thy  eyes, 
So  lonely  and  so  sweet ; 
Thrice  happy  is  the  man 
Whom  they  with  love  do  greet. 

A  diamond  is  thy  heart, 

That  glorious  splendor  throws; 

Thrice  happy  is  the  man 

For  whom  that  dear  heart  glows.  . 

Rubies  are  thy  lips, 
None  fairer  are  to  see 
Thrice  happy  is  the  man 
Whose  rubies  bright  these  be. 

Could  I  but  find  this  man 
In  a  lonesome  greenwood, 
His  luck  should  all  leave  him, 
On  the  spot  where  he  stood. 

S.  L.  FLEISHMAN. 

In  his  Prose  Miscellanies  from  Heinrdch  Heine,  Philadel 
phia,  1876,  Fleishman  gives  us  translations  from  The  Salon,  The 
Memoirs  of  Herr  von  Schnabelewopske,  Religion  and  Philoso 
phy  in  Germany,  The  Romantic  School }  The  Schwabian  School, 
The  Gods  in  Exile  and  Confessions.  Unfortunately  the  translator 
has  resorted  in  this  volume  of  selections  to  extensive  expurgating 
and  trimming.  Nobody  can  translate  Heine  without  facing  the 
problem  whether  to  present  the  great  man  as  he  was,  or  to  de 
stroy  much  of  the  psychological  value  of  his  work  by  injudicious 
trimming  to  suit  the  translator's  idea  of  public  taste.  In  making 
this  selection  of  Heine's  prose  writings  for  publication,  the  trans 
lator  was  bewildered  by  an  embarrassment  of  riches.  To  give 
only  these  few  pages  while  so  many  delightful  passages  are 
omitted  is  very  unsatisfactory  and  misrepresents  the  genius  of 


io6  Heine's  American  Translators 

Heine.  However,  whatever  Fleishman  selected  for  translation 
he  certainly  rendered  faithfully  and  in  many  cases  happily;  yet 
there  are  passages  where  the  brilliant,  witty,  poetic  style  of 
Heine's  prose  appears  dull  and  insipid  in  the  translation.  The 
book  also  contains  a  very  excellent  sketch,  biographical  and 
critical,  of  Heine  and  his  works.  In  this  sketch  Fleishman  fol 
lows  the  account  of  Strodtmann's  Heine's  Leben  und  Werke. 
Six  years  later  (1882),  Fleishman  published  his  translation  of 
Heine's  Romantic  School,  in  New  York.  This  translation  was 
undertaken  at  the  suggestion  of  his  wife  and  was  completed  by 
her  assistance.  In  addition  to  the  Romantic  School,  this  volume 
contains  a  translation  of  the  Suabian  Mirror  and  Heine's  intro 
duction  to  an  illustrated  edition  of  Don  Quixote. 

Realizing  that  he  had  made  a  mistake  in  trimming  the  prose 
of  Heine  in  his  previous  volume  of  translations,  Fleishman 
profited  by  this  opportunity  to  acknowledge  his  error,  conse 
quently  in  this  volume  he. presents  Heine  as  he  is,  and  is  careful 
to  avoid  distorting  the  meaning.  He  leaves  the  task  of  vindica 
tion  to  Heine  himself.  In  the  preface  to  this  translation  of  the 
Romantic  School,  Fleishman  devotes  some  space  to  calling  atten 
tion  to  the  significance  of  Heine  as  critic  and  as  a  writer  on 
German  literature,  especially  for  foreigners.  As  far  as  we  have 
been  able  to  observe,  the  translator  has  rendered  the  German  with 
felicity  and  accuracy,  and  we  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  it 
is  a  decided  improvement  on  Fleishman's  previous  efforts  in 
translating,  as  indicated  by  his  Prose  Miscellanies. 

JAMES  K.  HOSMER. 

Of  Hosmer  as  a  critic  we  have  already  spoken.  His  essay 
on  Heine,83  in  his  History  of  German  Literature,  contains  numer 
ous  translations  of  excerpts  from  Heine's  prose,  and  metrical 
translations  of  passages  from  Deutschland,  ein  Wintermdrchen, 
some  stanzas  from  the  New  Alexander  directed  against  the 
King  of  Prussia,  The  Princess  Use,  and  the  lines  Heine  wrote  to 


8M  Short  History  of  German  Literature,  by  J.  K.  Hosmer.     New  York, 
1878,  pp.  497-533- 


Heine's  American  Translators  107 

his  wife  when  he  was  on  his  death  bed.  Hosmer's  translation 
of  the  Prinzessin  Use  (Elster,  I,  159),  is  literal  but  not  poetic. 
The  rhythm,  is  poorly  reproduced  and  the  melodious  flow  is 
almost  absent.  The  rhyme  in  strophe  three  is  faulty. 

Princess  Use. 
Ich  bin  die  Prinzessin  Use. 

I  am  the  Princess  Use ; 
To  my  castle  come  with  me, — 
To  the  Ilsenstein  my  dwelling, 
And  we  will  happy  be. 

Thy  forehead  will  I  moisten, 

From  my  clear,  flowing  rill ; 

Thy  griefs  thou  shalt  leave  behind  thee, 

Thou  soul  with  sorrow  so  ill ! 

Upon  my  bosom  snowy, 

Within  my  white  arms  fold, 

There  shalt  thou  be  and  dream  a  dream 

Of  the  fairy  lore  of  old. 

I'll  kiss  thee,  and  softly  cherish, 
As  once  I  cherished  and  kissed 
The  dear,  dear  Kaiser  Heinrich, 
So  long  ago  at  rest. 

The   dead   are  dead   forever, — 
The  living  alone  live  still ; 
And  I  am  blooming  and  beautiful, 
My  heart  doth  laugh  and  thrill. 

O  come  down  into  my  castle, — 
My  castle  crystal  bright! 
There  dance  the  knights  and  maidens, 
There  revels  each  servant-wight. 

There  rustle  the  garments  silken, 
There  rattles  the  spur  below ; 
The  dwarfs  drum  and  trumpet  and  fiddle 
And  the  bugles  merrily  blow. 

Yet  my  arm  shall  softly  enclose  thee, 
As  it  Kaiser  Heinrich  enclosed: 
When  the  trumpets'  music  thundered, 
His  ears  with  my  hands  I  closed. 


io8  Heine's  American  Translators 

HENRY  PHILLIPS,  JR. 

Henry  Phillips  was  formerly  librarian  of  the  American 
Philosophical  Society,  and  in  several  volumes  of  translations 
from  the  German  has  shown  great  skill  as  a  translator  of  poetry. 
He  has,  indeed,  succeeded  in  surpassing  the  originals,  especially 
in  the  case  of  some  obscure  German  poets.  In  1878  Phillips  pro 
duced  his  Poems  Translated  from  the  Spanish  and  German. 
It  appeared  in  Philadelphia,  and  one  hundred  copies  were  printed, 
exclusively  for  private  circulation,  as  in  the  case  of  his  later 
volume  of  translations  from  German  poets.  Both  of  these  are 
to  be  found  in  the  Library  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society 
in  Philadelphia.  Unfortunately  this  excellent  translator  devoted 
most  of 'his  attention  to  adorning  inferior  German  poets  in  splen 
did  English  dress  and  he  shunned  the  masters  almost  entirely. 
From  Heine  he  gives  us  only  three  translations  and  these  are 
contained  in  his  first  volume,  Poems  Translated  from  the  Spanish 
and  German.  In  the  poemjZwei  Brilder,  Phillips  reproduces  the 
meaning,  spirit  and  tone  admirably,  but  departs  at  times  from 
the  trochaic  rhythm,  and  in  Belsazer  some  of  the  rhymes  are 
bad.  Since  these  translations  from  Heine  by  Phillips  are  so  ex 
cellent,  and  because  the  volume  in  which  they  are  to  be  found 
is  to  most  people  inaccessible,  we  shall  quote  all  of  them.  They 
will  serve  as  specimens  of  Phillips'  ability  as  a  translator  of 
German  verse. 

Zwei  Briider  (Elster,  I,  36). 

Oben  auf  der  Bergespitze. 

The  Duel. 

High  on  yonder  mountain's  summit, 
Stands  a  castle  veiled  in  night ; 
In  the  valley  gleam  bright  lightnings, 
Whirling  swords  with  blazing  light. 

Those  stern  fighters  are  two  brothers. 
Madly  hungering  for  a  life; 
Speak  and  tell  us  now  the  reason 
Of  this  wild  nefarious  strife? 


Heine's  American  Translators  log 

For  the  love  of  Countess  Laura 
Have  both  hearts  with  wrath  been  swayed, 
And  they  have  drawn  their  murderous  weapons 
To  possess  the  beauteous  maid. 

Which  one  of  the  two  combatants 
Can  the  fair  one's  favor  boast  ? 
Neither  has  she  more  inclined  to — 
Sword!  thy  point  shall  do  the  most! 

And  they  duel,  bold,  determined, 
Clashing,  flashing,  blow  on  blow, 
Thrusting  blindly  in  mad  darkness, 
Stumbling  midst  the  bushes  low. 

Woe,  ye  fratricidal  monsters! 
Woe,  ye  vale  of  bloody  zeal ! 
Each  one  falls  to  earth  prostrated 
By  his  brother's  bloody  steel. 

Generations  have  departed, 
Centuries  have  rolled  away; 
On  the  hill-side,  sadly  gloomy, 
Stands  the  castle  to  this  day. 

But  when  eve  falls  on  that  valley, 
Strange  the  tale  the  peasants  say, 
As  the  church  bells  toll  out  midnight, 
Once  more  clangs  the  brothers'  fray! 

Belsazer  (Elster,  I,  46). 
Die  Mitternacht  zog  ndher  schon. 

The  midnight  hour  onwards  passed ; 
All  Babylon  was  sunk  in  rest. 

Save  where  the  palace  stood  on  high, 
Belshazzar  held  wild  revelry; 

Where  in  the  chambers  filled  with  lights, 
The  king  caroused  among  his  knights. 

Around  sate  his  minions,  in  purple's  rich  fold, 
And  quaffed  mighty  bumpers  from  beakers  of  gold. 

Deep  clanged  the  bright  goblets,  wild  reveled  the  guest. 
The  king's  stubborn  heart  swelled  with  pride  in  his  breast. 


no  Heine's  American  Translators 

The  wine's  reddest  glow  burns  in  his  mad  cheeks, 
And  many  a  wicked  thought  he  speaks. 

And  blindly  his  madness  his  soul  onwards  spurred 
'Till  he  blasphemed  the  Godhead  with  direst  of  word. 

And  he  swore  and  he  raged  in  his  infamies  wild, 
While  the  servile  crew  mean  flatteries  smiled. 

And  he  shouted  an  order  with  eyes  aflame — 
Away  one  hurried  and  back  quick  came, 

And  brought  of  gold  vessels  a  heavy  load 
That  once  served  the  worship  of  Israel's  God. 

And  with  his  rash  hands  polluted  by  sin, 

The  king  seized  a  chalice  and  poured  the  wine  in. 

And  raised  it  to  his  lips  so  vile, 

And  drained  it  and  cried  with  drunken  smile. 

"Jehovah,  I  to  thee  in  scorn, 

For  I  am  the  king  in  Babylon!" 

Yet  scarce  had  the  sound  died  away  on  the  ear 
In  his  bosom  there  came  a  gruesome  fear. 

And  shouting  and  laughter  ceased  sudden  with  all, 
And  silence  like  death  reigned  supreme  in  the  hall. 

While  in  horror  and  terror  and  wonder  all  stand, 
For  lo !  on  the  wall  seems  a  human  hand ! 

That  wrote  and  wrote  on  the  marble  so  white 
With  letters  of  fire,  and  vanished  from  sight. 

With  staring  eyes  and  bated  breath 
The  king  sat  motionless,  a  living  death. 

And  the  roistering  crowd  were  filled  with  dread, 
Were  silent  and  motionless  as  dead. 

The  Magi  came  at  the  king's  command, 
But  none  these  words  could  understand. 

That  very  night  by  his  menial  train 
That  impious  monarch  in  sleep  was  slain. 


Heine's  American  Translators  1 1 1 

Hor'  ich  das  Liedchen  klingen  (Elster,  I,  81). 

When'er  I  hear  that  song  again 
My  darling  used  to  sing, 
My  breast  is  racked  with  savage  pain, 
My  heart  doth  madly  spring. 

A  gloomy  yearning  sends  my  soul 
Into   the    forest   drear, 
Where  misery  beyond  control 
Bursts  forth  in  many  a  tear. 

THEODORE  TILTON. 

Theodore  Tilton,  editor,  poet  and  lecturer,  was  born  in 
New  York  in  1835.  He  was  the  editor  of  The  Independent  and 
founder  of  the  Golden  Age.  He  is  known  chiefly  from  his  suit 
against  Henry  Ward  Beecher  begun  in  1874,  which  resulted  in 
the  disagreement  of  the  jury.  Among  his  poems  are  Thou  and 
I,  a  lyric  of  humn  life,  and  translations  from  Goethe  and  Heine. 
In  his  volume  of  poems  published  in  New  York  in  1880,  Tilton 
incorporated  his  translations  of  Goethe's  Konig  in  Thule  and 
Heine's  Ritter  Olaf,  translated  in  the  original  metres.  This  is 
perhaps  the  most  literal  rendering  of  Ritter  Olaf  in  English, 
and  the  spirit  of  the  original  is  fairly  well  reproduced. 

Ritter  Olaf  (Elster,  I,  273). 
Vor  dem  Dome  stehen  Zwci  Manner. 

At  the  door  of  the  Cathedral 
Stand  two  men  together  waiting; 
Both  are  clad  in  scarlet  raiment; 
One  the  king  and  one  the  headsman, 

And  the  king  saith  to  the  headsman, 
"  From  the  Psalm  the  priests  are  singing, 
Now  methinks  the  marriage  is  ended: 
Headsman,  hold  thy  good  axe  ready!" 

Clang  of  bells  and  peals  of  organ! 
Forth  the  folks  stream  from  the  temple; 
Motley  is  the  throng, — and,  midway, 
Come  the  bridal  pair,  be  jeweled. 


H2  Heine's  American  Translators 

Pale  and  full  of  fear  and  sorrow 
Looks  the  king's  all  beauteous  daughter; 
Bluff  and  blithesome  looks  Sir  Olaf, — 
And  his  red  mouth,  it  is  smiling! 

And  with  smiling  red  mouth,  saith  he 
To  the  king,  who,  standeth  scowling, 
"  Sire,  this  day,  my  head  requirest : 

"  I  this  day  must  die !  O  let  me 
Live  the  day  through  till  the  midnight, 
That  my  nuptials  I  may  honor 
With  a  wedding-feast  and  torch-dance ! 

"  Let  me,  let  me  live,  I  pray  thee, 
Till  the  last  cup  shall  be  emptied — 
Till  the  last  dance  shall  be  finished ! 
Let  me  live  until  the  midnight !" 

And  the  king  saith  to  the  headsman, 
"  To  our  son  we  grant  a  respite — 
Let  him  live  until  the  midnight! 
— Headsman,  hold  thy  good  axe  ready!" 


II. 


Sir  Olaf  at  the  festive  board 

Drains  the  last  flagon  that  is  poured; 

Close  clinging  to  his  side 

His  sobbing  bride! 

— Before  the  door  stands  the  headsman! 

The  waltz  begins;  and  Sir  Olaf  the  waist 

Of  his  young  wife  clasps,  and  away  in  wild  haste — 

They  whirl  to  the  glitter  and  glance 

Of  the  last  torch-dance ! 

— Before  the  door  stands  the  headsman! 

The  blare  of  the  trumpets  is  loud  and  glad; 
The  sigh  of  the  flutes  is  soft  and  sad ; 
Each  guest  beholding  the  dancing  twain, 
Feels  a  shiver  of  pain 
— Before  the  door  stands  the  headsman ! 


Heine's  American  Translators  113 

And  while  they  dance  in  the  echoing  room, 
To  the  ear  of  the  bride  thus  whispers  the  groom, 
"  How  dearly  I  love  thee  can  never  be  told — 
The  grave  is  so  cold !" 
— Before  the  door  stands  the  headsman! 


III. 

Sir  Olaf  it  is  noon  of  night! 
Thy  life  has  filled  its  measure; 
Thou  with  the  daughter  of  a  prince 
Hast  had  unhallowed  pleasure. 

The  monks,  with  murmuring  voice,  begin 
The  prayer  for  the  dead's  redeeming; 
The  man  in  red,  on  a  scaffold  black, 
Stands  with  his  white  axe  gleaming. 

Sir  Olaf  strides  to  the  castle  yard: 
The  lights  and  the  sword  shine  brightly; 
The  red  mouth  of  the  knight,  it  smiles! — 
And  he  crieth  gayly  and  lightly : 

"  I  bless  the  sun,  I  bless  the  moon, 
And  the  stars  that  in  heaven  glitter; 
And  I  also  bless  the  little  birds 
That  in  the  tree-tops  twitter. 

"  I  bless  the  sea,  I  bless  the  land, 
And  the  dewy  meads  of  clover; 
I  bless  the  violets — mild  as  the  eyes 
Of  my  darling  to  her  lover! — 

"  Those  violet  eyes  of  thine,  my  wife, 
Now  sending  my  soul  to  heaven! — 
And  I  also  bless  the  lilac-tree 
Where  thou  to  my  arms  wert  given !" 

MARK  TWAIN  (Samuel  L.  Clemens). 

In  Chapter  XVI  of  A  Tramp  Abroad  (1880),  Mark  Twain 
gives  an  amusing  account  of  the  Lorelei  legend.  The  air  of  the 
Lorelei  he  tells  us,  he  could  not  endure  at  first,  but  by  and  by 
it  began  to  take  hold  of  him.  He  prints  in  this  chapter  the  words, 
music  and  the  legend  of  the  Lorelei,  and,  after  some  droll  re- 


ii4  Heine's  American  Translators 

marks  on  the  legend  he  says:  "I  have  a  prejudice  against  the 
people  who  print  things  in  a  foreign  language  and  add 
no  translation.  When  I  am  the  reader,  and  the  author 
considers  me  able  to  do  the  translating  myself,  he  pays 
me  quite  a  nice  compliment,  but  if  he  would  do  the  trans 
lating  for  me  I  would  try  to  get  along  without  the 
compliment.  If  I  were  at  home,  no  doubt,  I  would  get  a 
translation  of  this  poem,  but  I  am  abroad  and  can't;  therefore 
I  will  make  a  translation  myself.  It  may  not  be  a  good  one,  for 
poetry  is  out  of  my  line,  but  it  will  serve  my  purpose — which  is, 
to  give  the  un-German  young  girl  a  jingle  of  words  to  hang 
the  tune  on  until  she  can  get  hold  of  a  good  version,  made  by 
some  one  who  is  a  poet  and  knows  how  to  convey  a  poetical 
thought  from  one  language  to  another." 

Then    Mark    Twain    gives    the    following    translation    of 
Heine's  Lorelei: 

I  cannot  divine  what  it  meaneth, 

This  haunting  nameless  pain: 

A  tale  of  the  bygone  ages 

Keeps  brooding  through  my  brain: 

The  faint  air  cools  in  the  gloaming, 
And  peaceful  flows  the  Rhine, 
The  thirsty  summits  are  drinking 
The  sunset's  flooding  wine; 

The  loveliest  maiden  is  sitting 
High-throned  on  yon  blue  air, 
Her  golden  jewels  are  shining, 
She  combs  her  golden  hair; 

She  combs  with  a  comb  that  is  golden, 
And  sings  a  weird  refrain 
That  steeps  in  deadly  enchantment 
The  listener's  ravished  brain. 

The  doomed  in  his  drifting  shallop, 
Is  tranced  with  the  sad  sweet  tone, 
He  sees  not  the  yawning  breakers, 
He  sees  but  the  maid  alone. 


Heine's  American  Translators  115 

The  pitiless  billows  engulf  him ! — 
So  perish  sailor  and  bark; 
And  this,  with  her  baleful  singing, 
Is  the  Lorelei's  gruesome  work. 

As  Mark  Twain  has  explained  the  purpose  of  his  transla 
tion  of  the  Lorelei  we  must  refrain  from  judging  it  severely. 
We  need  merely  note  that  he  has  failed  to  convey  the  foreboding 
effect  of  bedeuten  in  the  first  line,  and  did  not  reproduce  the 
sudden  change  to  mockery  in  the  last  strophe  as  indicated  in 
the  line  "Ich  glaube  die  Wellen  verschlingen" .  But  in  all  other 
respects  the  translation  is  admirable,  and  the  melodious  gliding 
of  the  rhythm  is  delightful.  Mark  Twain  was  a  perfect  German 
scholar,  and  of  this  fact,  his  famous  essay  on  the  German  lan 
guage  is  sufficient  evidence.  Delicious  and  characteristic  are  Mark 
Twain's  remarks  on  Garnham's  translation  of  the  Lorelei  (Chap 
ter  XII,  Tramp  Abroad)  : 

"I  have  a  translation  by  Garnham,  Bachelor  of  Arts,  on  the 
Legends  of  the  Rhine,  but  it  would  not  answer  the  purpose  I 
mentioned  above,  because  the  measure  is  too  nobly  irregular,  it 
don't  fit  the  tune  snugly  enough;  in  places  it  hangs  over  at  the 
ends  too  far;  and  in  other  places  one  runs  out  of  words  before 
he  gets  to  the  end  of  a  bar.  Still  Garnham's  translation  has  high 
merits,  and  I  am  not  dreaming  of  leaving  it  out  of  my  book.  I 
believe  this  poet  is  wholly  unknown  in  America  and  England.  I 
take  peculiar  pleasure  in  bringing  him  forward  because  I  con 
sider  that  I  discovered  him: 

I  do  not  know  what  it  signifies, 
That  I  am  so  sorrowful  ? 
A  fable  of  old  times  so  terrifies, 
Leaves  my  heart  so  thoughtful. 

The  air  is  cool  and  it  darkens, 
And  calmly  flows  the  Rhine ; 
The  summit  of  the  mountain  harkens 
In  evening  sunshine  line. 

The  most  beautiful  maiden  entrances 
Above  wonderfully  there, 
Her  beautiful  golden  attire  glances, 
She  combs  her  golden  hair. 


u6  Heine's  American  Translators 

With  golden  comb  so  lustrous, 
And  thereby  a  song  sings, 
It  has  a  tone  so  wondrous, 
That  powerful  melody  rings. 

The  shipper  in  the  little  ship 
It  affects  with  woes  and  might : 
He  does  not  see  the  rocky  clip, 
He  only  regards  dreadful  height. 

I  believe  the  turbulent  waves 
Swallow  at  last  shipper  and  boat 
She  with  her  singing  craves 
All  to  visit  her  magic  moat. 

"No  translation  could  be  closer.  He  has  got  in  all  the  facts ; 
and  in  their  regular  order,  too.  There  is  not  a  statistic  wanting. 
It  is  as  succinct  as  an  invoice.  That  is  what  a  translation  ought 
to  be.  It  should  exactly  reflect  the  thought  of  the  original. 
You  can't  sing,  'Above  wonderfully  there,'  because  it  simply 
won't  go  to  the  tune,  without  damaging  the  singer;  but  it  is  a 
most  clingingly  exact  translation  of  'Dort  oben  wunderbar,' — 
fits  it  like  a  blister.  Mr.  Garnham's  reproduction  has  other 
merits, — a  hundred  of  them, — but  it  is  not  necessary  to  point 
them  out.  They  will  be  detected." 

EMMA  LAZARUS  (1849-1887). 

Of  all  American  translations  of  Heine's  poems,  we  must 
pronounce  the  one  made  by  Emma  Lazarus  as  being  on  the  whole, 
the  most  satisfactory.  In  reviewing  her  works  we  are  struck  by 
the  precocity  and  spontaneity  of  her  poetic  gift,  for  she  was  a 
born  singer;  poetry  was  her  natural  language.  At  the  age  of 
eleven  the  War  of  Secession  inspired  her  first  lyric  outbursts. 
Her  poems  and  translations  written  between  the  ages  of  four 
teen  and  seventeen  were  collected  and  constituted  her  first  pub 
lished  volume.  A  profound  melancholy  pervaded  that  book. 
Foremost  among  the  translations  are  a  number  of  Heine's  songs, 
rendered  with  a  finesse  and  literalness  that  are  rarely  combined. 
Emma  Lazarus  possessed  eminent  qualifications  for  translating 
Heine's  poems.  She  was  akin  to  Heine  in  combining  Hellenism 


Heine's  American  Translators  117 

and  Hebraism  in  her  nature.  Already  in  her  first  volume  we 
observe  traces  of  this  kinship  and  affinity  that  afterwards  so 
plainly  declared  itself.  Her  works  like  Heine's  are  subjective 
and  biographical. 

In  1 88 1  appeared  her  translation  of  Heine's  Poems  and 
Ballads  (New  York,  1881),  to  which  she  prefixed  a  biographical 
sketch  of  Heine.  This  translation  was  at  once  generally  accepted 
as  the  best  version  of  that  untranslatable  poet.  Very  curious  is 
the  link  between  that  bitter,  mocking,  cynical  spirit  and  the  re 
fined,  gentle  spirit  of  Emma  Lazarus,  as  is  well  indicated  in  her 
translations.  Of  her  translations  from  Heine  in  general  we  may 
say  that  she  has  given  us  as  faithful  and  accurate  a  reproduction 
of  the  thought,  spirit,  tone,  rhythm  and  melody  of  the  original 
as  is  possible.  In  some  poems  she  falls  below  the  standard  of 
excellence  which  she  usually  maintains.  Positive  traces  of  her 
depending  on  previous  versions, — not  to  be  designated  as  acci 
dental  resemblances — are  discernible  now  and  then.  Her  rhymes 
are  for  the  most  part  exact,  and  she  endeavored  throughout  to 
reproduce  the  limpidity,  ease,  simplicity  and  subtle  suggestive- 
ness  of  the  original,  and  with  considerable  success.  As  her  vol 
ume  of  translations  from  Heine  has  become  almost  inaccessible 
we  will  cite  a  few  specimens.  The  only  copy  which  we  have 
been  able  to  find  in  Philadelphia  is  in  the  possession  of  ex-Judge 
Sulzberger. 

The  Pine  and  the  Palm  (Elster,  I,  78). 
Ein  Fichtenbaum  steht  einsam. 

There   stands  a  lonely  pine-tree, 

In  the  north,    on  a  barren  height ; 

He  sleeps  while  the  ice  and  the  snow-flakes 

Swathe  him  in  folds  of  white. 

He  dreameth  of  a  palm-tree 
Far  in  the  sunrise  land, 
Lonely  and  silent  longing 
On  her  burning  bank  of  sand. 


n8  Heine's  American  Translators 

Du  bist  wie  eine  Blume  (Elster,  I,  117). 

Thou  seemest  like  a  flower, 
So  pure  and  fair  and  bright ; 
A  melancholy  yearning 
Steals  o'er  me  at  thy  sight. 

I  fain  would  lay  in  blessing 
My  hands  upon  thy  hair ; 
Imploring  God  to  keep  thee 
So  bright  and  pure  and  fair. 

Du  schones  Fischer  madchen  (Elster,  I,  99) 

Thou  fairest  fishermaiden, 
Row  thy  boat  to  the  land, 
Come  here  and  sit  beside  me, 
Whispering  hand  in  hand. 

Lay  thy  head  on  my  bosom, 
And  have  no  fear  of  me; 
For  carelessly  thou  trustest 
Daily  the  savage  sea. 

My  heart  is  like  the  ocean, 
With  storm  and  ebb  and  flow ; 
And  many  a  pearl  lies  hidden 
Within  its  depths  below. 

Das  Meer  hat  seine  Perlen  (Elster,  I,  171). 

The  ocean  hath  its  pearls, 
The  heaven  hath  its  stars 
But  oh!  my  heart,  my  heart, 
My  heart  hath  its  love. 

Great  are  the  sea  and  the  heavens, 
But  greater  is  my  heart; 
And  fairer  than  pearls  or  stars 
Glistens  and  glows  my  love. 

Thou  little  youthful  maiden, 

Come  unto  my  mighty  heart! 

My  heart,  and  the  sea,  and  the  heavens 

Are  melting  away  with  love. 


Heine's  American  Translators  119 

Nacht  lag  aitf  meinen  Augen  (Elster,  I,  90). 

Night  lay  upon  my  eyelids, 
About  my  lips  earth  clave ; 
With  stony  heart  and  forehead 
I  lay  within  my  grave. 

How  long  I  cannot  reckon 
I  slept  in  that  strait  bed; 
I  woke  and  heard  distinctly 
A  knocking  overhead. 

"Wilt  thou  not  rise,  my  Henry? 
The  eternal  dawn  is  here; 
The  dead  have  re-arisen, 
Immortal  bliss  is  near." 

"I  cannot  rise,  my  darling, 

I  am  blinded  to  the  day. 

Mine  eyes  with  tears  thou  knowest, 

Have  wept  themselves  away/' 

"Oh,  I  will  kiss  them,  Henry, 
Kiss  from  thine  eyes  the  night. 
Thou  shalt  behold  the  angels 
And  the  celestial  light" 

"I  cannot  rise,  my  darling, 

My  blood  is  still  outpoured, 

Where  thou  didst  wound  my  heart  once, 

With  sharp  and  cruel  word." 

"I'll  lay  my  hand,  dear  Henry, 
Upon  thy  heart  again. 
Then  shall  it  cease,  from  bleeding, 
And  stilled  shall  be  its  pain." 

"I  cannot  rise,  my  darling, 
My  heart  is  bleeding — see! 
I  shot  myself,  thou  knowest, 
When  thou  wert  reft  from  me!" 

"Oh,  with  my  hair,  dear  Henry, 
I'll  stanch  the  cruel  wound, 
And  press  the  blood-stream  backward, 
Thou  shalt  be  whole  and  sound." 


120  Heine's  American  Translators 

So  kind,  so  sweet  she  wooed  me, 
I  could  not  say  her  nay. 
I  tried  to  rise  and  follow, 
And  clasp  my  loving  May. 

Then  all  my  wounds  burst  open, 
From  head  and  breast  outbrake 
The  gushing  blood  in  torrents — 
And  lo,  I  am  awake! 

Even  at  the  cost  of  sacrificing  the  enchanted  melody,  Emma 
Lazarus,  in  her  article  on  Heine  in  the  Century  Magazine  (Vol. 
VII),  gave  a  few  prose  translations,  for  only  in  such  literal 
versions  could  she  hope  to  convey  an  approximate  idea  of  the 
piercing  subtlety  of  thought  and  innuendo  so  peculiar  to  Heine's 
poems. 

HENRY  C.  LEA. 

This  eminent  writer  on  ecclesiastical  history  was  born  in 
Philadelphia  in  1825.  He  has  published  Superstition  and  Force 
(1866),  Sacerdotal  Celibacy  (1867),  Studies  in  Church  History 
(1869),  and  a  History  of  the  Inquisition  of  the  Middle  Ages 
(1887).  In  1882  appeared  in  Philadelphia  his  Translations 
and  Other  Rhymes.  This  volume  was  privately  printed  and  a 
copy  may  be  found  in  the  Library  of  the  Historical  Society  in 
Philadelphia.  It  contains  translations  from  Goethe,  Uhland, 
Schiller,  Herder,  Dach  and  Heine.  Mr.  Lea's  version  of  Heine's 
famous  sonnet  to  his  mother,  Im  tollen  Wahn  hatt'  ich  dich  einst 
verlassen  is  a  fine  specimen  of  accurate  and  spirited  translation 
(Elster,  I,  57). 

I  left  thee  once  my  spirit  madly  burning, 
To  wander  onwards  to  earth's  farthest  shore, 
And  find  if  I  could  quench  the  thirst  I  bore 
For  love  and  satisfy  my  heart's  wild  yearning. 

So  love  I  sought,  through  every  pathway  turning. 
With  outstretched  hand  I  went  from  door  to  door, 
Begging  a  little  love  from  each  one's  store, 
But  they  gave  only  cruel  hate  and  spurning 


Heine's  American  Translators  121 

And  thus  in  quest  of  love  I  wandered  ever, 
Seeking  for  love  and  finding  love,  ah,  never! 
Then  homeward  turned,  spent  with  vain  endeavor. 
And  thou  didst  come  with  hasty  step  to  meet  me, 

And  what  in  thine  o'erbrimming  eyes  did  greet  me— 
That  was  the  love  whose  quest  so  long  did  cheat  me ! 

Beautifully  has  Mr.  Lea  translated  Heine's  Wallfahrt 
nach  Kevlaar  (Elster,  146),  which  we  shall  quote  in  preference 
to  the  remaining  translations  from  Heine,  such  as  the  Lorelei, 
etc.,  because  it  represents  in  our  opinion  Mr.  Lea's  best  effort 
in  that  line.  Especially  commendable  is  the  fidelity  with  which 
the  original  is  reproduced. 

Am  Fenster  stand  die  Mutter. 

The  mother  stood  at  the  window, 
The  youth  lay  on  his  bed, 
"Come,  Wilhelm  dear,"  she  said. 

"I  am  so  sick,  O  mother, 
I   can   neither  hear   nor   see. 
I  think  of  the  dead  Gretchen, 
And  my  heart  aches  wo  fully." 

"Rise,  and  we'll  go  to  Kevlaar, 
With  book  and  rosary, 
God's  Mother  there  will  surely 
Cure  thy  sick  heart  for  thee." 

Now  swells  the  chanting  solemn, 
The  church's  banners  shine, 
As  on  goes  the  procession, 
Through  Collen  on  the  Rhine. 

As  the  crowd  sweeps  on,  the  mother 
Leads  her  son  tenderly, 
And  both  join  in  the  chorus — 
"Sweet  Mary,  praise  to  Thee !" 

II. 

The  Mother  of  God  at  Kevlaar 
Wears  today  her  richest  gear. 
She  has  much  to  do,  for  gather 
Sick  folk  from  far  and  near. 


122  Heine's  American  Translators 

And  these  poor  sick  ones  bring  her, 
As  offerings  to   suit, 
Limbs  made  of  wax  so  neatly — 
Full  many  a  hand  and  foot. 

And  whoso  a  wax-hand  offers 
She 'frees  his  hand  of  pain; 
And  whoso  a  wax-foot  offers, 
The  foot  is  made  whole  again. 

And  many  who  went  on  crutches 
On  the  rope  can  dance  around; 
And  many  can  play  on  the  viol 
Who  had  not  a  finger  sound. 

The  mother  has  taken  a  candle 
And  a  waxen-heart  has  made — 
"Take  this  to  God's  sweet  Mother, 
She  will  heal  thy  grief,"  she  said. 

The  son  takes  the  wax-heart  sighing, 
To  the  shrine  he  sighing  goes, 
The  tears  from  his  eyes  are  flowing, 
As  the  prayer  from  his  sick  heart  flows. 

"Thou  Blessed  of  all  the  Blessed, 
Thou  Queen  upon  Heaven's  throne, 
Thou  God's  own  purest  virgin, 
To  Thee  be  my  sorrows  known! 

"I  dwell  alone  with  my  mother, 
At  Collen  on  the  Rhine, 
Collen  where  there  is  many 
A  church  and  chapel  and  shrine. 

"And  near  to  us  dwelt  Gretchen, 
Who  now  lies  'neath  the  ground — 
Mary,  I  bring  Thee  a  wax  heart, 
Heal  thou  my  heart's  deep  wound! 

"Heal  thou  my  heart  that's  broken, 
And  I  will  most  fervently 
Sing  every  night  and  morning, 
Sweet  Mary,  a  praise  to  Thee!" 


Heine's  American  Translators  123 

III. 

The  sick  son  and  his  mother 
In  a  room  together  slept, 
The  Mother  of  God  came  thither, 
And  silently  in  she  stepped. 

The  sick  youth  she  bent  over, 
And  on  his  heart  so  seared 
She  laid  her  hand,  and  softly 
She  smiled  and  disappeared. 

In  her  sleep  all  this  the  mother 
Saw — and  yet  more  she  marked 
From  her  slumber  she  awakened, 
For  the  dogs  so  loudly  barked. 

There  lay  outstretched  before  her, 
Her  son  all  stark  and  dead, 
While  o'er  the  wan,  shrunk  features, 
The  dawn  its  radiance  shed. 

The  hands  she  gently  folded — 
Benumbed  with  grief  was  she 
Yet  her  low  voice  rose  devoutly — 
"Sweet  Mary,  praise  to  Thee!" 

Mr.  Lea's  translation  of  the  Lorelei  is  poor,  yet  in  the  last 
strophe  he  has  felicitously  caught  the  tone  and  spirit  of  the 
sudden  gleam  of  mockery  so  characteristic  of  Heine: 

I  believe  that  the  end  of  the  story 
Is  the  sinking  of  skiff  and  youth, 
And  that  mischief  with  her  singing 
Hath  the  Lorelei  wrought  in  sooth! 

F.  JOHNSON. 

Johnson  translated  Heine's  Lyrisches  Intermezzo,  and  en 
titled  his  volume,  A  Romance  in  Song.  This  book  appeared 
in  Boston  in  1884. 


124  Heine's  American  Translators 

FREDERIC  H.  HEDGE. 

Selections  from  the  prose  of  Heine  were  given  by  Hedge 
in  his  Prose  Writers  of  Germany.  He  also  translated  extracts 
from  the  Reisebilder,  in  his  essay  on  Heine,  in  the  volume  en 
titled  Hours  zvith  German  Classics  (Boston,  1886),  in  addition 
to  giving  some  specimens  of  metrical  translations.  Professor 
Hedge,  whatever  else  he  was,  was  no  poet,  and  he  set  a  bad 
example  when  he  murdered  Goethe's  Der  Erlkdnig,  in  which  no 
one  can  detect  a  suspicion  of  the  beautiful  ballad  strain  of  the 
original  in  his  dry  and  spiritless  rendering.  A  certain  bland 
self-assurance  which  does  not  dream  of  the  subtler  difficulties 
to  be  overcome  is  what  strikes  one  as  a  characteristic  of  Hedge's 
dealings  with  Goethe  and  Heine.  His  translation  of  Heine's 
Ein  Reiter  durch  das  Bergthal  zieht  and  Wallfahrt  nach  Kevlaar, 
are  certainly  bad. 

In  the  following  specimen  (which  is  the  best  Hedge  has 
done  with  Heine),  the  grace  and  easy  levity  of  the  original  song 
are  entirely  absent: 

Es  treibt  mich  hin,  es  treibt  mich  her! 
Noch  wenige  Stunden,  dann  soil  ich  sie  schauen, 
Sie  selber,  die  schonste  der  schonen  Jungfrauen; 
Du  treues  Herz,  was  pochst  du  so  schwer! 

etc.  (Elster,  I,  31),  is  thus  rendered  by  Hedge: 

I'm  tossed  and  driven  to  and  fro; 
A  few  hours  more  and  I  shall  meet  her, — 
The  maid,  than  whom  earth  knows  no  sweeter: 
Heart,  my  heart,  why  throbb'st  thou  so? 
But  the  hours  they  are  a  lazy  folk ; 
Leisurely  their  slow  steps  dragging, 
Yearning,  creeping,  lingering,  lagging, — 
Come,  hurry  up,  you     lazy  folk! 
With  hurry  and  worry  I'm  driven  and  chased ; 
But  the  hours  were  never  in  love,  I  judge, 
And  so  they  conspire  to  wreak  their  grudge 
In  secretly  mocking  at  lover's  haste. 


Heine's  American  Translators  125 

CHARLES  T.   BROOKS    (1813-1883). 

Charles  Timothy  Brooks  was  born  in  Salem,  Mass,  in  1813. 
He  enjoyed  the  study  of  German,  with  whose  masterpieces  in 
prose  and  poetry  his  name  was  to  be  so  honorably  identified  in 
after  years  as  translator  and  critic.  He  was  initiated  into  the 
language  and  its  literature  by  those  enthusiastic  and  eminent 
German  scholars,  Dr.  Karl  Pollen  and  Prof.  Charles  Beck.  In 
1838  he  offered  his  tribute,  a  volume  of  translated  German 
poetry  to  the  Specimens  of  Foreign  Standard  Literature,  edited 
by  George  Ripley,  in  the  interests  of  the  Transcendental  philoso 
phy.  The  qualities  which  distinguished  Brooks  as  a  translator 
from  the  German,  were  his  rare  knowledge  of  the  language  and 
its  literature,  great  practice  in  composition,  a  cultivated  gift  of 
expression  and  a  warm  poetical  sympathy.  His  first  considerable 
publication  was  a  translation  of  Schiller's  William  Tell  (1837). 
His  collection  of  translated  poems  contributed  to  Ripley's  Speci 
mens  of  Foreign  Literature  (Vol.  XIV  of  Series),  has  already 
been  alluded  to.  He  was  singularly  happy  in  his  rendering  of 
shorter  poems  and  lyrics.  His  exquisite  versions  of  the  ballads 
and  songs  of  Uhland,  Lenau,  Chamisso,  A.  Grim,  Freiligrath 
and  Heine,  and  his  fine  translation  of  Faust  will  longest  preserve 
his  literary  reputation  with  posterity.  In  1842  his  second  col 
lection  of  translated  verse  under  the  title  of  German  Lyric 
Poetry  was  published  in  Philadelphia.  Brooks  is  also  famous 
for  his  translations  from  Jean  Paul.  In  Poems  Original  and 
Translated,  by  Charles  T.  Brooks  (Boston,  1885),  we  find  the 
following  fine  translation  from  Heine  (page  184  f). 

Meergruss  (Elster,  I,  179). 

Thalatta,  Thalatta! 
Sei  mir  gegriisst,  du  eiviges  Meer! 
Thalatta!  Thalatta! 
Hail  to  thee !  hail !  thou  infinite  sea ! 
Hail  to  thee !  hail !  ten  thousand  times 
My  bounding  heart  greets  thee ! 
As  whilom  ten  thousand 
Greek  hearts  leaped  up  to  greet  thee — 
Misery — vanquishing,  homesick,  and  languishing, 
World-renowned  Greek  hearts  heroic. 


126  Heine's  American  Translators 

The  billows  were  swelling, 
Were  swelling  and  sounding; 
The  sun-beams  were  flashing  and  playing, 
Refulgent  with  rosy  lustre: 
Up  rose  the  flocks  of  startled  sea  mews 
Wheeling  away — loud  screaming ; 

'Mid  stamping  of  war  steeds  and  clattering  of  bucklers, 
It  rang  through  the  welken  like  triumph's  shout; 
Thalatta!   Thalatta! 

Welcome  once  more  thou  infinite  sea ! 

Like  voices  of  home,  thy  murmuring  waters; 

Like  dreams  of  my  childhood,  sunbeams  and  shadows 

Flit  o'er  thy  weltering  billowy  domain. 

And  memory  forever  reviews  the  old  story 

Of  all  the  precious  glorious  playthings, 

Of  all  the  glittering  Christmas  presents, 

Of  all  the  branching  trees  of  red  coral, 

Gold  fishes,  pearls  and  shells  of  beauty, 

The  secret  stores  thou  treasurest  up 

Below  in  thy  sparkling  crystal  house. 

Oh,  how  long  have  I  languished  in  dreary  exile ! 
Like  a  dry,  withering  flower, 
In  the  tin  case  of  the  botanist  pining, 
So  lay  my  heart  in  my  breast. 
I  seem  like  one  who,  the  live-long  winter 
A  patient,  sat  in  a  dark  sick-chamber, 
And  now  I  suddenly  leave  it, 
And,  lo!  in  her  dazzling  effulgence, 
Comes  the  emerald  Spring,  sun-wakened,  to  greet  me, 
And  the  rustling  trees,  white  and  blossoming  murmur, 
And  the  fair  young  flowers  look  up  at  me 
With  radiant,  sunny  glances, 
All  is  music  and  mirth  and  beauty  and  bliss, 
And  through  the  blue  heavens  the  warblers  are  singing, 
Thalatta!   Thalatta! 

Thou  valiant,  retreating  heart ! 

How  oft,  how  bitterly 

Harassed  thee  the  Northland's  barbarian  maidens! 

Bending  their  great  eyes  upon  thee, 

Fiery  arrows  they  darted; 


Heine's  American  Translators  127 

With  words  all  crooked  and  polished 
Threatened  to  rend  my  bosom  asunder; 
With  arrow-head  billets  they  smote  to  destroy 
My  wretched,  bewildered  brain. 
Vainly  I  held  up  my  shield  against  them; 
The  arrow  came  hissing,  the  blows  fell  crashing, 
And  pressed  by  the  Northern  barbarian  maidens, 
Fought  I  my  way  to  the  sea — 
And  now  I  breathe  freely  once  more, 
And  breathe  out  my  thanks  to  the  sea, 
The  blessed,  the  rescuing  sea! 
Thalatta!   Thalatta! 

NEWELL  DUNBAR. 

In  Newell  Dunbar's  book,  Heinrich  Heine,  His  Wit,  Wis 
dom  and  Poetry,  Preceded  by  the  Essay  of  Matthew  Arnold 
(Boston,  1892),  edited  by  Newell  Dunbar,  we  have  a  good  an 
thology,  sips  hastily  snatched — the  cream  of  the  inimitable  Heine 
is  what  this  little  book  aims  to  present.  The  skimming  is  skilfully 
performed  and  affords  delicious  refreshment  and  sustenance. 
Dunbar  acknowledges  his  indebtedness  to  the  excellent  volume  of 
selections  by  Snodgrass.  Dunbar's  volume  combines  prose  and 
verse  in  about  equal  proportions,  something  like  an  all-around 
presentment  of  the  author  being  thus  given  in  a  single  volume. 
In  this  respect  the  book  is  unique.  The  incorporation  in  it  of 
the  sympathic  essay  of  Matthew  Arnold  greatly  enhances  the 
value.  Also  some  of  the  illustrations  used  had  never  hitherto 
been  placed  before  English  readers.  As  this  volume  is  merely 
a  compilation  from  other  translators,  we  need  not  speak  of  its 
merits. 

FRANCES  HELLMAN. 

The  Lyrics  and  Ballads  of  Heine  and  Other  German  Poets, 
translated  by  Frances  Hellman,  New  York,  1892,  contains  ninety- 
six  pieces  from  Heine  supplemented  by  forty-six  others  from 
Goethe,  Geibel,  Uhland  and  others.  The  verse  for  the  most  part 
flows  easily  and  gracefully.  There  are  not  a  half  dozen  lines  in  the 
whole  collection  that  fail  in  that  respect.  So  far  as  we  have 
been  able  to  compare  translation  with  original,  there  are  no 


128  Heine's  American  Translators 

blunders  in  sense — not  even  the  customary  one  in  the  last  line  of 
Heine's  Am  fernen  Horizonte.  Like  the  one  just  named,  many 
of  the  poems,  especially  of  Heine's,  are  well  rendered  and  the 
translator  has  contrived  in  most  cases  to  preserve  the  original 
rhythm.  As  a  specimen  of  her  translations  from  Heine  we  shall 
take  Die  Bergstimme  (Elster,  I,  35),  Ein  Reiter  durch  das 
Bergthal  Zieht. 

The  Mountain  Voice. 

Across  the  vale,  in  slow,  sad  pace, 
There  rides  a  trooper  brave; 
"Oh!  go  I  now  to  sweetheart's  arm, 
Or  to  a  gloomy  grave?" 
The  mountain  answer  gave  : 
"A  gloomy  grave." 

And  onward  still  the  horseman  rides, 
And  sighs  with  heaving  breast: 
"So  soon  I  go  then  to  my  grave, 
Ah  well,  the  grave  brings  rest." 
The  mountain  voice  confessed : 
"The  grave  brings  rest." 

And  then  down  from  the  horseman's  cheek 
A  woeful  tear-drop  fell; 
"And  if  the  grave  alone  brings  rest, 
All  will,  in  the  grave,  be  well." 
The  voice — with  hollow  knell : 
"In  the  grave  be  well." 

CHARLES  DE  KAY. 

A  translation  of  the  familiar  letters  of  Heine  addressed 
chiefly  to  his  mother  and  sister  is  what  Mr.  De  Kay  has  given  us 
in  his  Family  Life  of  Heine  (New  York,  1893).  These  letters 
were  first  collected  and  published  by  Von  Embden,  Heine's 
nephew.  They  are  not  literary  at  all.  Heine  was  often  loose  in 
construction  and  sometimes  ungrammatical,  but  at  the  same  time 
the  German  is  easy.  These  letters  reflect  the  hopes  and  needs  of 
Heine  and  his  attitude  of  mind  toward  money,  his  wife,  house- 


Heine's  American  Translators  129 

hold,  publisher,  friends,  enemies  and  relations.  Broad  wit  is  not 
absent.  De  Kay's  translation  is  for  the  most  part  faithful,  yet  he 
fails  to  reproduce  the  grace  and  ease  of  the  original  with  felicity. 

ARTHUR  DEXTER. 

Karpeles  called  the  book,  Heinrich  Heine's  Life  Told  in  His 
Own  Words,  edited  by  Gustav  Karpeles,  and  translated  from  the 
German  by  Arthur  Dexter  (New  York,  1893),  an  autobiography. 
As  Heine  did  not  select  the  materials  of  which  it  is  composed 
and  join  them  in  a  volume  to  tell  the  story  of  his  life,  Dexter  has 
changed  the  title.  For  the  same  reason  he  has  omitted  much  that 
he  thought  would  not  interest  American  readers.  The  metrical 
portions  of  this  translation  are  literal,  but  the  melodious  union  of 
simplicity  with  wit  and  pathos,  so  characteristic  of  Heine's  poetry, 
is  not  reproduced  by  the  translator.  Dexter  has  also  inserted  in 
this  volume  a  few  letters  taken  from  Heine's  Familienleben, 
edited  by  his  nephew,  Baron  von  Embden.  To  give  examples  of 
Dexter's  metrical  translations  we  quote  the  following  specimens : 

Auf  Flugeln  des  Gesanges  (Elster,  I,  68). 
Upon  the  wings  of  melody 
My  heart's  delight  I  will  beaf 
To  the  far-off  streams  of  the  Ganges, 
To  a  spot  of  beauty  rare. 
There  lies  a  blooming  garden, 
Beneath  the  moonlight  clear; 
The  lotus  flowers  are  waiting 
For  their  little  sister  dear. 
The  violets  titter  and  gossip, 
And  look  at  the  stars  above ; 
Each  rose  in  the  ear  of  her  lover 
Whispers  her  story  of  love. 
The  gazelles,  in  their  innocent  cunning, 
Listen  and  pass  with  a  bound ; 
And  the  waves  of  the  sacred  river 
On  the  distant  shore  resound. 
Here  will  we  lie  in  the  shadow, 
Under  the  palm  of  the  stream, 
And  drink  deep  of  rest  and  passion, 
And  dream  a  heavenly  dream. 


130  Heine's  American  Translators 

Ein  Fichtenbaum  steht  einsam  (Elster,  I,  78). 

A  pine-tree  stands  deserted 
On  the  barren  northern  height, 
It  slumbers,  by  the  ice  and  snow 
Wrapped  in  a  mantle  white. 

It  is  dreaming  of  a  palm-tree 
In  the  far-off  morning-land, 
Deserted  and  grieving  in  silence, 
By  the  cliffs  and  burning  sand. 

EDWARD  EVERETT  HALE. 

In  his  volume  entitled  For  Fifty  Years  (Boston,  1893), 
Edward  Everett  Hale  gives  two  metrical  translations  from 
Heine.  Owing  to  their  length,  we  cannot  quote  both,  although 
they  are  well  done.  We  can  get  an  idea  of  their  excellence  by  com 
paring  Neptune  Descending  with  the  original.  The  other  trans 
lation  beginning  with  the  line,  "Midnight  rests  upon  the  city", 
was  written  by  Mr.  Hale  in  1843,  bvrt  not  published  until  1893. 
It  consists  of  sixty-four  lines,  and  the  rhythm  flows  along  ad 
mirably. 

Neptune  Descending. 

There  he  sat  high,  retired  from  the  seas ; 
There  looked  with  pity  on  his  Grecians  beaten, 
There  burned  with  rage  at  the  god-king  who  slew  them. 
Then  he  rushed  forward  from  the  rugged  mountain  quickly  de 
scending  ; 

He  bent  the  forests  also  as  he  came  down, 
And  the  high  cliffs  shook  under  his  feet. 
Three  times  he  trod  upon  them, 
And,  with  his  fourth  step,  reached  the  home  he  sought  far, 

There  was  his  palace,  in  the  deep  waters  of  the  seas, 

Shining  with  gold  and  builded  forever. 

There  he  yoked  him  his  swift  footed  horses, 

Their  hoofs  are  brazen,  and  their  manes  are  golden. 

He  binds  then  with  golden  thongs, 

He  seizes  his  golden  goad, 

He  mounts  upon  the  chariot  and  doth  fly, — 

Yes !  he  drives  them  forth  into  the  waves ! 


Heine's  American  Translators  131 

And  the  whales  rise  under  him  from  the  depths, 

For  they  know  he  is  their  king ; 

And  the  glad  sea  is  divided  into  parts, 

That  his  steeds  may  fly  along  quickly ; 

And  his  brazen  axle  passes  dry  between  the  waves, 

So,  bounding  fast,  they  bring  him  to  his  Grecians. 

MADISON  CAWEIN. 

In  The  White  Snake  and  Other  Poems  (Louisville,  1895), 
(J.  P.  Marton  and  Company,  translations  from  the  German  by 
Madison  Cawein),  the  well-known  poet,  offers  three  translations 
from  Heine,  namely,  Palsgravine  Jutta,  containing  twenty-one 
lines;  from  the  Jehuda  ben  Halevy,  containing  seven  four-line 
strophes;  and  Perduse,  containing  thirty-six  strophes  of  two 
lines  each.  Of  this  book,  there  were  but  one  hundred  and  fifty 
copies  printed,  of  which  one  hundred  copies  were  for  sale. 

MARION  M.  MILLER. 

The  article  on  Heine  by  M.  M.  Miller  in  the  Bachelor  of 
Arts  (Vol.  II,  1896),  contains  a  fairly  accurate  translation  of 
Heine's  Weavers: 

With  thirsty  eyes,  darkened  by  grieving, 
Gnashing  their  teeth,  a  web  they  are  weaving: 
"Thy  shroud  are  we  shaping,  O  Germany  old, 
And  into  it  weaving  a  curse  three-fold— 
Weaving,  a-weaving! 

"A  curse  on  God !   In  vain  supplication 
We  prayed  him  in  horrors  of  cold  and  starvation, 
All  bootless  we  waited  and  hoped  and  believed 
Us  he  has  bemocked  and  befooled  and  deceived — 
Weaving,  a-weaving! 

"A  curse  on  Kaiser,  the  rich  man's  Kaiser! 
For  woes  of  the  poor  no  kinder,  no  wiser; 
He  lets  us,  when  from  us  our  last  groat  is  wrung 
As  though  we  were  dogs,  be  shot  at  and  hung, — 
Weaving,  a-weaving! 


132  Heine's  American  Translators 

"A  curse  on  country,  the  fatherland  rotten, 
Where  shame  and  disgrace  flaunt,  and  truth  is  forgotten, 
Where  every  bloom  fades  untimely  away 
And  royal  batten  the  worm  on  decay, — 
Weaving,  a-weaving! 

"The  loom  is  a-creaking,  in  ceaseless  flight 
The  shuttle  is  glancing  by  day  and  by  night, 
Thy  shroud  are  we  shaping,  O  Germany  old ! 
Yes,  into  it  weaving  the  curse,  three- fold,— 
Weaving,  a-weaving!" 

EUGENE  FIELD. 

In  his  various  editions  of  poems,  Eugene  Field  gives  us 
some  fine  specimens  of  translations  from  Luther,  Uhland, 
Korner  and  Heine.  Although  his  translations  from  Heine  are 
not  literal,  yet  they  are  masterly  reproductions  of  the  tone,  spirit 
and  melody  of  the  original.  Let  us  take  for  example,  his  beauti 
ful  rendering  of  the  exquisite  lyric  Aits  meinen  Thrdncn  spries- 
sen  (Elster,  I,  66)  : 

Love  Song  84 — Heine. 

Many  a  beauteous  flower  doth  spring 
From  the  tears  that  flood  my  eyes, 
And  the  nightingale  doth  sing 
In  the  burden  of  my  sighs. 

If,  O  child,  thou  lovest  me, 
Take  these  flowerets  fair  and  frail, 
And  my  soul  shall  waft  to  thee 
Love  songs  of  the  nightingale. 

Eugene   Field    is    also    felicitous    in    his    paraphrase 85  of 
Heine's  Es  fdllt  ein  Stern  herunter  (Elster,  I,  88). 

There  fell  a  star  from  realms  above — 
A  glittering  glorious  star  to  see ! 
Methought  it  was  the  star  of  love, 
So  sweetly  it  illumined  me. 


14  Songs  and  Other  Verse,  by  Eugene  Field.    New  York,  1896,  p.  30. 
K  Songs  and  Other  Verse,  p.  184. 


Heine's  American  Translators  133 

And  from  the  apple  branches  fell 
Blossoms  and  leaves  that  time  in  June ; 
The  wanton  breezes  wooed  them  well 
With  soft  caress  and  amorous  tune. 

The  white  swan  proudly  sailed  along 
And  vied  her  beauty  with  her  note — 
The  river  jealous  of  her  song, 
Threw  up  its  arms  to  clasp  her  throat. 

But  now — oh,  now  the  dream  is  past — 
The  blossoms  and  the  leaves  are  dead, 
The  swan's  sweet  song  is  hushed  at  last, 
And  not  a  star  burns  overhead. 

Another  clever  translation  is  Field's  version  of  Heine's 
Widow  or  Daughter? 

Shall  I  woo  the  one  or  the  other  ? 
Both  attract  me — more  's  the  pity! 
Pretty  is  the  widowed  mother, 
And  the  daughter,  too,   is  pretty. 

When  I  see  that  maiden  shrinking, 
By  the  gods  I  swear  I'll  get  'er! 
But  anon  I  fall  to  thinking 
That  the  mother  '1  suit  me  better ! 

So  like  any  idiot  ass 
Hungry  for  the  fragrant  fodder, 
Placed  between  two  bales  of  grass, 
Lo,  I  doubt,  delay,  and  dodder ! 

Field  being  an  enthusiastic  admirer  of  Heine's  lyrics,  and 
possessing  a  fine  poetic  feeling  has  been  marvelously  successful 
in  the  few  specimens  that  he  translated  from  the  Buck  dcr  Lieder. 

W.   A.   R.   KERR. 

The  Canadian  Magazine  (Vol.  XII,  1899)  published  the 
first  contribution  of  W.  A.  R.  Kerr  to  the  already  large  num 
ber  of  American  translations  from  Heine.  In  this  number  of 
the  magazine,  Kerr  published  two  translations  and  subsequently 
in  his  article  on  Heine  (Canadian  Magazine,  Vol.  XV),  he 


134  Heine's  American  Translators 

introduced  a  few  more.  While  these  versions  give  indication 
of  considerable  talent  in  translating,  yet  they  fail  to  reproduce 
the  directness  and  simplicity  of  the  originals.  The  subtle 
thought  and  innuendo  and  grace  are  but  poorly  reported.  The 
following  specimens  represent  Mr.  Kerr's  best  efforts  in  trans 
lating  Heine: 

Recollection. 

The  yellow  foliage  shivers, 

Down  fall  the  dry  leaves  to  their  doom — 

Ah,  all  that  was  fair  and  lovely 

Sinks  withered  in  the  tomb. 

The  tops  of  the  forest  are  shimmering 
Beneath  the  wan  sun's  sad  light, 
The  last  cold  kisses  of  summer 
Give  way  to  the  winter  night. 

I  cannot  keep  from  weeping 
From  my  heart's  inmost  cell ; 
This  scene  once  again  reminds  me 
Of  when  we  said  farewell. 

And  I  was  forced  to  leave  thee, 
I  knew  thou  wert  dying  now — 
I  was  the  parting  summer, 
The  dying  forest  thou. 

Ein  Fichtenbaum  steht  einsam. 

A  pine-tree  standeth  lonely 

On  a  bare  northern  height, 

It  slumbereth,  while  ice  and  snow  flakes 

Are  veiling  it  in  white. 

And  of  a  palm-tree  it  dreameth, 
That  far  in  the  Orient  land 
Lonely  and  silent  mourneth 
On  a  burning  rocky  strand. 

EDWARD  HENRY  KEEN. 

The  only  translation  from  Heine  published  by  Mr.  Keen, 
is  to  be  found  in  the  Outlook  (Vol.  69,  page  978). 


Heine's  American  Translators  135 

Schattenkusse,  Schattenliebe  (Elster,  I,  229). 

Shadow  love,  and  shadow  kisses, 
Shadow  life  so  fleet  and  strange, 
Will  all  hours  be  sweet  as  this  is  ? 
Tell  me,  dear  one,  must  they  change? 

Nothing  stays  of  all  we  cherish, 
Weary  eyes  will  fall  asleep; 
All  things  fade,  and  pass  and  perish, 
Loving  hearts  must  cease  to  beat. 

JOHN  HAY. 

The  volume  of  Poems  by  John  Hay,  published  recently 
by  Houghton,  Mifflin  and  Company,  contains  some  excellent 
translations  and  paraphrases  from  Heine's  songs  and  ballads. 
How  well  Hay  could  paraphrase  Heine's  lyrics  may  be  seen 
from  the  following  rendering  of  Du  bist  wie  eine  Blumc: 

When  I  look  on  thee  and  feel  how  dp»r, 
How  pure,  and  how  fair  thou  art, 
Into  my  eyes  there  steals  a  tear, 
And  a  shadow  mingled  of  love  and  fear 
Creeps  slowly  over  my  heart. 

And  my  very  hands  feel  as  if  they  would  lay 
Themselves  on  they  fair  young  head, 
And  pray  the  good  God  to  keep  thee  alway 
As  good  and  lovely,  as  pure  and  gay, — 
When  I  and  my  wild  love  are  dead. 

Heine's  Azra  is  admirably  rendered.  The  words  by  Hay 
fit  the  wonderful  music  written  by  Rubenstein  very  well,  and 
yet  the  translation  is  literal: 

Tdglich  ging  die  Wunderschone. 

Daily  went  the  fair  and  lovely 
Sultan's  daughter  in  the  twilight, — 
In  the  twilight  by  the  fountain, 
Where  the  sparkling  waters  plash. 

Daily  stood  the  young  slave  silent 
In  the  twilight  by  the  fountain, 
Where  the  plashing  waters  sparkle, 
Pale  and  paler  every  day. 


136  Heine's  American  Translators 

Once  by  twilight  came  the  princess 
Up  to  him  with  rapid  questions: 
"  I  would  know  thy  name,  thy  nation, 
Whence  thou  comest,  who  thou  art?" 
And  the  young  slave  said,  "My  name  is 
Mahomet,  I  come  from  Yemmen. 
I  am  of  the  sons  of  Azra, 
Men  who  perish  if  they  love." 

Other  translations  and  paraphrases  from  Heine  to  be 
found  in  Hay's  poems  are  Good  and  Bad  Luck,  The  Golden 
Calf,  To  the  Young,  and  The  Countess  Jutta.  Of  these  we 
shall  only  quote  the  last,  because  this  puts  Hay's  ability  to  a 
severe  test  in  reproducing  the  melody  and  flow  of  Heine's  so- 
called  irregular  rhythms.  The  others  are  mostly  free  render 
ings,  but  possess  the  peculiar  flavor  which  stamps  them  as  the 
peculiar  work  of  Heine.  How  thoroughly  Hay  was  dominated 
by  Heine  we  shall  learn  later. 

Countess  Jutta. 

The  Countess  Jutta  passed  over  the  Rhine, 
In  a  light  canoe  by  the  moon  's  pale  shine. 
The  handmaid  rows  and  the  Countess  speaks: 
"  Seest  thou  not  there  where  the  water  breaks 

Seven  corpses  swim 

In   the   moonlight   dim? 
So  sorrowful  swim  the  dead! 
"They  were  seven  knights  full  of  fire  and  youth, 
They  sank  on  my  heart  and  swore  me  truth. 
I  trusted  them;  but  for  Truth's  sweet  sake, 
Lest  they  should  be  tempted  their  oaths  to  break, 

I  had  them  bound, 

And  tenderly  drowned! 
So  sorrowful  swim  the  dead !" 
The  merry  Countess  laughed  outright ! 
It  rang  so  wild  in  the  startled  night ! 
Up  to  the  waist  the  dead  men  rise 
And  stretch  lean  fingers  to  the  skies. 

They  nod  and  stare 

With  glassy  glare! 
So  sorrowful  swim  the  dead! 


Heine's  American  Translators  137 

In  many  instances  Hay  transforms  almost  rather  than 
translates,  simply  retaining  the  most  delicate  perfection  of  the 
thought,  re-embodied  in  a  new  form. 

LILIAN  WHITING. 

While  the  lyrical  translations  of  Miss  Whiting  do  not  offer 
the  most  perfect  approach  to  the  spirit  of  the  originals,  yet  she 
shows  an  exquisite  interpretation  of  the  poet's  art,  being  herself  a 
poetess  of  no  mean  ability.  In  her  World  Beautiful  in  Books 
(Boston,  1901),  we  find  two  translations  from  Heine;  namely, 
Ein  Fichtenbaum  steht  einsani  and  Mein  Liebchen,  wir  sassen 
zusammen. 

Ein  Fichtenbaum  stcht  einsani. 

A  pine-tree  stood  alone  on 
A  bare,  bleak,   Northern  height, 
The  ice  and  the  snow  they  swathe  it 
As  it  sleeps  there  all  in  white. 

'Tis  dreaming  of  a  palm  tree 
In  a  far-off  Eastern  land 
That  mourns,  alone,  and  silent, 
On  a  ledge  of  burning  sand. 

Mein  Liebchcn  wir  sassen  zusammen. 

My  darling  we  sat  together, 

We  two  in  our  frail  boat ; 

The  night  was  calm  o'er  the  wide  sea 

Whereon  we  were  afloat. 

The  Spectre-Island,  the  lonely, 
Lay  dim  in  the  moon's  mild  glance ; 
There  sounded  sweetest  music, 
There  waved  the  shadowy  dance. 

It  sounded  sweeter  and  sweeter, 
But  we  slid  past  forlornly 
Upon  the  great  sea-flow." 
It  waved  there  to  and  fro ; 


138  Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature 


HEINE'S  INFLUENCE  ON  AMERICAN  LITERATURE. 

INTRODUCTION. 

So  powerful  has  been  Heine's  influence  that  unmistakable 
traces  are  discernible  in  the  literatures  of  all  cultured  lands.  His 
works  are  read,  admired  and  translated  into  every  cultivated 
language.  Heine's  claim  to  immortality  is  that  in  his  works  the 
whole  spiritual  life  of  his  age  is  reflected  and  expressed.  Its  in 
tellectual  endeavor,  its  wildest  passions,  its  tenderest  emotion,  its 
hope  and  its  disappointment  find  a  voice  in  his  verse.  A  high 
theme,  but  one  which  he  treated  in  no  abstract  manner,  in  no 
careful  exalted  style.  There  lives  in  his  works  a  spirit  which 
breaks  through  the  national  boundaries  of  talent  and  feeling. 
Heine  is  not  infrequently  praised  and  esteemed  in  foreign 
countries  more  than  Goethe.  We  have  a  monograph  by  Louis 
Betz  on  Heine  in  France,  a  very  comprehensive  and  diligent 
piece  of  research  work  from  which  we  learn  much.  On  Heine's 
influence  in  Russia,  Italy  and  South  America,  similar  works  have 
appeared.  In  England  the  influence  of  Heine's  works  manifested 
itself  slowly,  for  his  genius  had  to  make  peace  with  the  temper 
of  the  nation.  In  spite  of  many  eminent  examples  to  the  con 
trary,  the  natural  tendency  of  the  English  lyric  is  robust  and  joy 
ous.  To  Clough  and  Matthew  Arnold  we  may  attribute  the  first 
conscious  introduction  of  Heine's  influences  into  English 
poetry.  When  they  first  imitated  the  cadences  of  Heine,  a  force 
was  required  which  should  be  a  powerful  reaction  against  the 
false  melancholy  of  Byronism.  The  best  work  of  Arnold  dis 
played  a  peculiar  originality,  by  fusing  with  the  serene  philosophy 
of  Wordsworth  and  the  sensuous  ecstasy  of  Keats,  the  sensi 
bility  and  vibrations  of  the  soul  of  Heine.  To  a  still  later  school, 
that  of  Pater  and  Swinburne,  Heine's  great  discovery  lay  less  in 
his  attitude  of  intellectual  revolt  than  in  his  adoption  of  a  modern 
and  yet  intense  paganism, — the  originality  and  vitality  of  his  at- 


Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature  139 

titude  toward  beauty.  It  is  undoubtedly  the  most  independent,  the 
most  unacademic  that  the  world  had  seen.  Heine  in  an  age  but 
half  emancipated  from  the  so-called  rules  of  Aristotle,  and  sur 
rounded  by  those  who  could  give  a  reason  for  every  article  of 
imaginative  faith  which  they  professed,  played  the  double  part 
of  a  rebel  angel  and  delicious  child.  "English  literature  owes  to 
Heine,  if  not  directly,  at  least  indirectly,  and  to  elements  first 
unchained  by  him,  all  that  is  most  original,  least  servile,  and  most 
sensitive  in  the  European  arts  of  today,"  says  Edmund  Gosse. 
Heine's  very  powerlessness  and  faint  intellectual  beatings  against 
the  prison  bars  of  life,  have  helped  greatly  to  bre^ak  down  the 
stronghold  of  conventionality.  It  is  precisely  the  mystery  of 
Heine,  his  enigmatic  smile,  his  want  of  definite  outline,  which, 
combined  with  the  pure  flame  of  his  genius,  have  given  to  his  ar 
rogance  and  irony,  his  pity  and  indignation,  his  romantic  melody 
and  his  capricious  wit  their  triumphant  charm.  Wherever  a  new 
vision  of  beauty  arises,  wherever  the  false  is  mocked  at  and  the 
true  encouraged,  wherever  the  conception  of  a  young  enthusiasm 
disturbs  the  comfortable  inaction  of  the  elderly,  there  Heine  is 
present  in  spirit 

In  the  poetry  of  Robert  Buchanan  and  James  Thomson,  the 
author  of  the  City  of  Dreadful  Night,  the  influence  of  Heine  is 
clearly  seen.  Sharp  in  his  Earth's  Voices  celebrates  nature  after 
the  manner  of  Heine. 

Concerning  Heine's  influence  in  America  very  little  of  a 
positive  nature  has  been  known.  As  early  as  1885  C.  G.  Leland 
had  declared  in  his  preface  to  his  translation  of  Heine's  Reise- 
bilder,  that  no  living  German  writer  had  exerted  an  influence  at 
all  comparable  to  that  of  Heine,  and  that  since  Goethe,  no  author 
had  penetrated  so  generally  through  every  class  of  society.  Mr. 
E.  C.  Stedman  in  his  Poets  of  America  (Boston,  1886)  had 
called  attention  to  the  influence  of  Heine  on  Longfellow's  Hy 
perion  and  Voices  of  the  Night  and  had  even  gone  so  far  as  to  point 
out  some  resemblances.  Mr.  Stedman  was  also  struck  by  Poe's 
absolute  love  of  beauty  and  was  inclined  to  find  a  parallel  in 
Heine's  idolatry  of  the  Lady  of  Milo.  To  Lowell  belongs  the 


140  Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature 

credit  of  discovering  Heine's  dominating  influence  on  W.  D. 
Howells.  In  some  prose  sketch  of  Howells,  Lowell's  keen  analy 
sis  had  found  the  Heine,  and  Lowell  advised  Howells  to  try  to 
sweat  the  Heine  out  as  men  do  mercury.  Professer  T.  R.  Louns- 
bury  in  his  volume  on  J.  F.  Cooper  in  the  American  Men  of 
Letters  series  noted  some  close  similarities  between  Cooper's 
phrases  and  descriptions  of  events  in  Paris  after  the  July  Revolu 
tion,  and  those  of  Heine  in  the  columns  of  the  Augsburg  Allge- 
meine  Zeitung.  William  Sharp  in  his  Life  of  Heine  (London, 
1888)  conjectured  that  Frank  Stockton,  the  American  humorist, 
derived  hints  for  one  or  two  of  his  best  known  tales  from 
Heine's  extravaganza  The  White  Elephant,  to  be  found  in  the 
Romanzero.  Professor  Brander  Matthews  in  his  Introduction 
to  American  Literature  says  that  Longfellow's  lyrics  have  a 
singing  simplicity  caught  probably  from  German  lyrists  such  as 
Uhland  and  Heine.  Equally  vague  and  inconclusive  are  the  con 
jectures  of  C.  F.  Richardson,  who  in  his  American  Literature 
acknowledges,  in  an  indefinite  manner,  Longfellow's  indebted 
ness  to  Heine,  and  hints  at  the  possibility  of  this  influence  being 
present  in  R.  H.  Stoddard  and  W.  W.  Story.  Concerning 
Heine's  influence  on  the  poetry  of  W.  D.  Howells,  Richardson 
feels  at  liberty  to  express  himself  with  more  certainty  and  empha 
sis.  The  general  scope  and  nature  of  Heine's  influence  are  thus 
defined  by  W.  D.  Howells  in  Harper's  Magazine  (Vol.  107, 
pp.  480-483)  :  "Heine  remained  an  influence  and  force  destined  to 
be  felt  wherever  and  whenever  literary  art  feels  the  need  of  liber 
ation.  What  Heine  does  for  the  reader,  who  is  also  a  writer,  is 
to  help  him  find  his  own  true  nature;  to  teach  him  that  form 
which  is  the  farthest  from  formality ;  to  reveal  to  him  the  secret 
of  being  himself.  He  cannot  impart  the  grace,  the  beauty  in 
which  he  abounds,  but  if  his  lover  has  either  in  him,  Heine  will 
discover  it  to  him.  The  delight  of  his  instruction  will  be  mainly 
aesthetic,  but  the  final  meaning  of  his  life  and  work  is  deeply  and 
sadly  ethical." 

After  hearing  the  testimony  of  these  authoritative  voices 
concerning  the  extent  and  character  of  the  influence  exerted  by 
Heine  in  America,  one  can  realize  the  difficulty  of  giving  a  com- 


Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature  141 

plete  account  of  such  a  pervading  force.  This  force  has  mani 
fested  itself  in  both  prose  and  verse,  and  has  been  operative  since 
the  publication  of  Haven's  translation  of  Die  Romantische  Schule 
in  Boston,  in  1836.  Heine's  influence  first  appears  in  a  positive 
form  in  Longfellow's  Hyperion  and  continues  to  the  present  day, 
being  still  recognizable  in  the  verse  of  such  contemporary  poets 
as  Madison  Cawein  and  Lilian  Whiting,  and  in  the  novels  of, 
W.  D.  Howells  and  Marion  Crawford.86  Heine  himself  was  well 
aware  of  his  enormous  popularity  in  America.  Attacks  on  his 
character  and  works  in  Germany  saddened  his  last  days.  Dur 
ing  Meissner's  last  visit  to  him  in  the  summer  of  1854  Heine 
remarked:  "How  the  journals  calumniate  me!  What  a  miser 
able  wretch  am  I,  according  to  those  articles.  How  many  faults 
do  they  find  in  my  works?  If  this  goes  on  much  farther  I  shall 
soon  cease  to  be  counted  among  the  poets.  I  am  treated  so  only 
in  that  Germany  which  I  love  so  well,  while  France  gives  me 
nothing  but  words  of  praise,  America  reprints  me,  and  scholars 
in  New  York  and  Albany  make  me  'the  subject  of  their  lectures." 

HENRY  WADSWORTH  LONGFELLOW   (1807-1882). 

German  influence  began  to  exert  itself  on  Longfellow  when 
he  was  a  student,  and  continued  to  make  itself  felt  in  his  later 
life  during  his  first  visit  to  Germany,  in  1829.  In  August  of  the 
following  year  he  returned  to  America,  and  was  for  five  years 
professor  of  modern  languages  at  Bowdoin  College.  Here  he 
read  more  or  less  German  literature.  In  April,  1835,  Longfellow 
again  sailed  for  Europe,  traveled  through  Germany  and  Switzer 
land,  and  in  the  following  October  returned  to  America  in  order 
to  become  professor  of  modern  languages  at  Harvard.  He  de 
livered  lectures  and  wrote  on  German  literature.  In  April,  1842, 
he  went  to  Europe  for  the  third  time.  In  Germany  he  planned 
his  Christus,  made  the  acquaintance-  of  Freiligrath,  and  turned 


M  In  view  of  this  immense  extent  of  Heine's  influence,  we  will  in  our 
present  section  confine  ourselves  mainly  to  tracing  the  influence  in  American 
poetry,  beginning  with  Longfellow  and  concluding  with  John  Hay,  Eugene 
Field,  and  others,  who  died  but  recently. 


142  Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature 

his  attention  to  the  Jungdeutsche  Schule.  Returning  to  America 
in  the  winter  of  1842  he  remained  for  twenty- five  years  in 
America,  and  delivered  lectures  on  Goethe  and  Schiller,  and 
published  his  Poets  and  Poetry  of  Europe,  and  read  the  works  of 
Fichte,  Kant,  Grillparzer,  Uhland  and  Heine.  In  1868  he  went 
to  Europe  for  the  last  time,  and  on  his  return  to  America,  read 
Schlegel,  Grimm  and  Voss.  Longfellow  also  felt  the  German 
influence  through  his  friendly  relations  with  Freiligrath,  Karl 
Pollen,  Franz  Lieber,  Karl  Schurz  and  Johann  Georg  Rohl.  But 
not  only  in  his  life  as  a  scholar  and  man  do  we  observe  the  in 
fluence  of  German  spirit  and  culture,  but  also  in  his  poetical  and 
prose  works.  Goethe  interested  him  always  and  Richter  was  his 
favorite  author.  How  deep  and  permanent  his  impressions  of 
Germany  were  is  evident  in  many  passages.  Especially  is  the 
Rhineland  mentioned  frequently.  Longfellow's  genius  was  al 
most  feminine  in  its  flexibility  and  sympathetic  quality.  It 
readily  took  the  color  of  its  surroundings  and  opened  itself 
eagerly  to  impressions  of  the  beautiful  from  every  quarter,  but 
especially  from  books.  The  young  poet's  fancy  was  instinctively 
putting  out  feelers  toward  the  Old  World.  After  his  visit  to 
Europe  he  returned  deeply  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  romance. 
It  was  his  mission  to  refine  American  tastes  by  revealing  new 
springs  of  beauty  in  the  literature  of  foreign  tongues.  His  mis 
sion  was  interpretative;  his  inspiration  came  to  him,  in  the  first 
instance,  from  other  sources  than  the  common  life  about  him. 
He  naturally  began  as  a  translator,  and  in  subtler  ways  than  by 
direct  translation  he  infused  the  fine  essence  of  European  poetry 
into  his  own.  We  have  already  noted  the  recognition  and 
acknowledgment  of  Longfellow's  indebtedness  to  Heine,  by 
such  eminent  American  litterateurs  and  critics  as  Richardson, 
Matthews,  and  Stedman.  In  previous  sections  we  have  discussed 
Longfellow's  criticisms  on  Heine  and  his  transaltion  of  Nachts 
in  der  Kajiite  and  various  prose  extracts  from  Graham's  Maga 
zine.  Of  the  numerous  quotations  from  Die  Romantische 
Schule  in  Hyperion  and  Poets  and  Poetry  of  Europe  we  have 
already  spoken.  In  his  edition  of  Poems  of  Places  Longfellow 
inserted  a  number  of  poems  from  Heine  translated  by  various 


Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature  143 

men,  and  in  the  preface  he  said:  "For  myself,  I  confess  that 
these  poems  have  an  indescribable  charm,  as  showing  how  the 
affections  of  men  have  gone  forth  to  their  favorite  haunts,  and 
consecrated  them  forever." 

In  his  article  on  Heine  in  Graham's  Magazine  Longfellow 
had  said  that  Heine's  style  was  remarkable  for  vigor,  wit  and 
brilliancy.  Commenting  on  Heine's  Buck  der  Lieder  Long 
fellow  wrote  in  his  journal,87  June  4,  1846:  "A  true  summer 
morning,  warm  and  breezy.  F.  sat  under  the  linden-tree  and 
read  to  me  Heine's  poems,  while  I  lay  under  a  hay-cock.  .  .  . 
Heine,  delicious  poet,  for  such  an  hour !  What  a  charm  there  is 
about  his  Buck  der  Lieder!  Ah,  here  they  would  be  held  by 
most  people  as  ridiculous.  Many  poetic  souls  there  are  here  and 
many  lovers  of  song;  but  life  and  its  ways  and  ends  are  prosaic 
in  this  country  to  the  last  degree." 

In  Volume  II,  page  no,  in  the  Journal,  February  9,  1848, 
we  read  the  following:  "Received  some  German  books — 
sketches  of  the  German  political  lyric  poets,  with  portraits. 
.  .  .  Heine,  a  pleasant  face,  and  indicating  the  sarcastic  na 
ture  of  the  modern  Scarron." 

Writing  to  James  T.  Fields,  from  Nahant,  August  15, 
1859,  Longfellow88  comments  on  Heine's  Lutere  as  follows: 
"Read  Lutere  by  Henri  Heine;  spicy  descriptions  of  Paris  and 
Parisian  notabilities  in  the  days  of  Louis  Philippe." 

In  a  letter  89  to  G.  W.  Greene,  dated  March  7,  1879,  Long 
fellow  says  of  Zendrini's  translation  of  Heine:  "A 
more  important  achievement  is  a  translation  of  Heine's  poems 
into  Italian  by  Bernardino  Zendrini — a  volume  of  over  four 
hundred  pages,  sent  me  by  the  translator,  desideroso  di  un  suo 
guidizio."  As  far  as  I  have  examined  it,  he  has  done  his  work 
well.  And  what  a  difficult  work !  There  is  evidently  a  great  and 
strange  fascination  in  translating.  It  seizes  people  with  irresist 
ible  power  and  whirls  them  away  till  they  are  beside  them- 


"  Life  of  H.  W.  Longfellow,  edited  by  Samuel  Longfellow.    3  Vols.    Bos 
ton,  1893.    Vol.  II,  p.  41. 

88  Life  of  Longfellow,  by  Samuel  Longfellow.    Vol.  II,  p.  372. 
"Vol.  Ill,  p.  298. 


144  Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature 

selves.  It  is  like  a  ghost  beckoning  me  to  follow."  The  forego 
ing  quotations  show  how  frequently  Longfellow  occupied  him 
self  with  the  reading  and  study  of  Heine's  works,  and  we  shall 
now  proceed  to  consider  the  traces  of  Heine's  influence  which  are 
recognizable  in  Longfellow's  works,  confining  ourselves  mainly 
to  his  poetry.  Longfellow  appears  to  have  made  his  acquaintance 
with  Heine's  works  very  early  in  life,  for  in  his  sketch  book 
Outre-Mer  (1833  and  1835)  where  Irving's  Sketch  Book  is  the 
model,  we  can  find  traces  of  German  influence,  especially  Heine's 
Reisebilder.  Compare,  for  instance,  the  remarks  made  by  Long 
fellow  on  the  narrowness  of  the  streets  of  Genoa  with  that  of 
Heine  in  his  Reisebilder,  on  the  same  point.  In  Hyperion  ( 1839) 
he  shows  us  pictures  of  German  life  and  is  full  of  allusions  to 
German  literature  and  quotations  from  Heine,  Goethe  and  Jean 
Paul.  The  grotesque  episode  of  Frau  Kranick's  tea  in  Ems  is 
conceived  entirely  in  the  manner  of  Heine.  The  sentimental 
tone  that  prevades  Hyperion  is  the  very  thing  which  Longfellow 
subsequently  found  fault  with  in  the  Reisebilder.  The  view  of  life 
presented  in  his  Hyperion  is  optimistic,  yet  it  is  overhung  with 
the  same  purple  melancholy  and  affected  by  that  same  feeling  of 
sadness  so  characteristic  of  some  of  Heine's  verse  in  the  Bu£h  der 
Lieder.  It  was  with  justification  that  Poe  called  Longfellow  a 
sentimentalist  as  Longfellow  had  called  Heine,  when  speaking  of 
the  Reisebilder.  Longfellow's  fame  began  with  the  appearance 
in  1839  of  his  Voices  of  the  Night.  Only  nine  new  pieces  were 
in  this  book:  these  with  the  translations  following  have  charac 
teristics  that  his  verse  continued  to  display.  The  Prelude  re 
calls  Heine's  third  edition  of  the  Buck  der  Lieder  ("Das  ist  der 
alte  Marchenwald,"  Elster,  I,  8),  then  just  published.  Aside  from 
the  influence  of  Heine's  manner  as  indicated  in  the  melodious 
quality  of  the  verse,  the  simplicity,  the  symbolism,  the  quiet, 
smooth  beginning,  these  two  preludes  have  many  characteristics 
in  common.  The  sylvan  scene  corresponds  to  der  alte  Marchen 
wald;  the  slumberous  sound  of  the  leaves  of  the  patriarchal  tree 
clapping  their  hands  in  glee,  which  brings  the  feelings  of  a 
dream,  corresponds  to 


Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature  145 

"  Sie  jubelt  so  traurig, 
Sie  schluchzet  so  f  roh ; 
Vergessene  Traume  erwachen." 

Both  preludes  have  the  reverie,  the  visions  of  youth. 
"  Before  me  rose  an  avenue 
Of  tall  and  sombrous  pines" ; 

reminds  us  of  "Ich  ging  fiirbass,  und  wie  ich  ging,  so  sah  ich 
vor  mir  liegen  auf  freiem  Platz  ein  grosses  Schloss,"  etc.  To 
Heine  the  sylvan  scene  recalls  the  vision  of  his  youthful  love  and 
pain,  to  Longfellow  it  recalls  the  dreams  of  youth,  visions  of 
childhood  that  were  so  sweet  and  wild.  Distant  voices  tell  Long 
fellow  that  visions  of  childhood  cannot  stay,  and  that  other 
themes  now  demand  his  lay.  Henceforth  his  song  must  be,  the 
forest  where  the  din  of  iron  branches  sounds,  and  the  river  re 
flects  the  heavens  all  black  with  sin;  all  forms  of  sorrow,  and 
delight, — these  must  now  be  his  theme.  We  see  here  the  deep 
tinge  of  melancholy  which  pervades  Heine's  Vorrede  zur  dritten 
Auflage  of  his  Buck  der  Lieder.  Longfellow  realizes  that  delight 
exists  together  with  sorrow.  We  are  naturally  reminded  of  the 
words  of  the  nightingale  in  Heine's  prelude : 

"Die  Nachtigall  sang:    O  schone  Sphinx! 
O  Liebe !  was  soil  es  bedeuten, 
Dass  du  vermischest  mit  Todesqual 
Alle  deine  Seligkeiten." 

Later  poems  show  very  well  that  Longfellow  caught  the 
manner  of  Heine.  In  The  Day  is  Done,  The  Bridge,  Twilight, 
we  find  repeated  the  reverie  and  the  favorite  rhythm  of  Heine. 
These  poems  also  reproduce  the  wonderful  singing  quality  of 
Heine's  verse,  but  of  course  they  do  not  contain  the  scorn  and 
passion  of  the  German.  Longfellow  like  Heine  is  the  poet  of 
sentiment.  The  spontaneous  ease  and  grace  are  the  best  technical 
qualities  of  Longfellow's  lyrics,  and  these  qualities  he  derived 
chiefly  from  a  careful  study  of  Heine.  In  some  poems  Long 
fellow  displays  a  subtlety  in  feeling  and  suggestiveness  that  re 
mind  us  of  Heine's  lyrics.  The  Fire  of  Driftwood  is  the  subtlest 


146  Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature 

thing  in  feeling  that  Longfellow  ever  wrote.  If  there  is  any  par 
ticular  in  which  Longfellow's  inspiration  came  to  him  at  first 
hand  and  not  through  books,  it  is  in  respect  to  aspects  of  the  sea. 
On  this  theme  no  American  poet  has  written  more  beautifully 
and  with  a  keener  sympathy  than  the  author  of  The  Wreck  of  the 
Hesperus,  and  of  Sea^veed.  Yet  Longfellow  owes  part  of  this 
inspiration  to  Heine's  sea-poetry,  Die  Nordsee.  The  poem  en 
titled  the  Fire  of  Driftwood  reminds  us  of  Heine's  Wir  sassen  am 
Fischerhause  (Elster,  I,  98).  The  resemblances  in  theme  and 
situation  are  of  course  merely  accidental,  but  the  manner,  tone 
and  spirit  is  the  same  in  both  poems.  Compare  for  instance  the 
first  strophes  of  both  poems: 

"  Wir  sassen  am  Fischerhause, 
Und  schauten  nach  der  See ; 
Die  Abendnebel  kamen, 
Und  stiegen  in  die  Hohe." 

"  We  sat  within  the  farm-house  old, 
Whose  windows,  looking  o'er  the  bay, 
Gave  to  the  sea-breeze  damp  and  cold, 
An  easy  entrance  night  and  day." 

The  Open  Window  reproduces  admirably  the  favorite 
rhythm,  the  tone,  spirit,  simplicity,  suggestiveness,  melody,  grace 
and  charm  of  Heine's  songs.  The  theme  is,  to  be  sure,  hardly 
Heine-like,  but  everything  else  is  decidedly  in  Heine's  character 
istic  manner.  Other  examples  of  the  influence  of  Heine's  tech 
nique  might  be  mentioned,  but  these  will  suffice  to  convince  us 
that  the  grace  that  takes  the  ear  with  delight,  the  singing  sim 
plicity  and  all  other  fascinating  characteristics  of  Longfellow's 
lyrics  are  mostly  copied  from  Heine,  although  the  influence  of 
Uhland  is  also  very  strong. 

Heine  begins  quietly,  smoothly.  He  produces  his  effect  not 
by  direct  delineation  or  representation,  but  by  the  suggestion  of 
the  less  important  of  the  small  things  in  which  the  great  are  re 
flected.  Remarkable  is  Heine's  style  for  condensation,  pregnant 
brevity,  and  subtle  suggestiveness.  These  characteristics  of 


Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature  147 

Heine's  technique  Longfellow  endeavored  to  imitate  and  in  the 
poems  mentioned  he  succeeds  well.  But  Longfellow  was  not  a 
mocker  and  he  did  not  permit  a  discordant  note  to  jingle  in  his 
lyrics,  and  consequently  the  sudden  revulsion  of  mood,  so  often 
found  in  the  last  lines  of  Heine's  poems,  is  entirely  absent.  How 
successfully  Longfellow  was  able  to  imitate  Heine's  technique  is 
well  illustrated  by  the  poem  entitled  Twilight,  which  may  be 
compared  to  Heine's  Das  ist  ein  schlechtes  Wetter  (Elster, 
I,  109): 

The  twilight  is  sad  and  cloudy, 
The  wind  blows  wild  and  free, 
And  like  the  wings  of  sea-birds 
Flash  the  white  caps  of  the  sea. 

But  in  the  fisherman's  cottage 
There  shines  a  ruddier  light, 
And  a  little  face  at  the  window 
Peers  out  into  the  night. 

Close,  close  it  is  pressed  to  the  window, 
As  if  those  childish  eves 
Were  looking  into  the  darkness 
To  see  some  form  arise. 

And  a  woman's  waving  shadow 
Is  passing  to  and  fro. 
Now  rising  to  the  ceiling, 
Now  bowing  and  bending  low. 

What  tale  do  the  roaring  ocean 
And  the  night-wind,  bleak  and  wild, 
As  they  beat  at  the  crazy  casement, 
Tell  to  that  little  child? 

And  why  do  the  roaring  ocean, 
And  the  night-wind,  wild  and  bleak, 
As  they  beat  at  the  heart  of  the  mother, 
Drive  the  color  from  her  cheek? 


148  Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature 

JAMES  RUSSELL  LOWELL  (1819-1891). 

If  some  small  savor  creep  into  my  rhyme 
Of  the  old  poets ;  if  some  words  I  use, 
Neglected  long,  which  have  the  lusty  thews 
Of  that  gold-haired  and  earnest-hearted  time, 

Whose  loving  joy  and  sorrow  all  sublime 

Have  given  our  tongue  its  starry  eminence, 

It  is  not  pride,  God  knows,  but  reverence 

Which  hath  grown  in  me  since  my  childhood's  prime. 

— James  Russell  Lowell. 

In  mature  youth  Lowell  took  his  seat  in  the  Harvard  Chair 
of  Modern  Languages,  succeeding  Longfellow  as  professor  in 
1855.  Already  possessing  scholarly  knowledge  of  the  German 
language  and  literature,  Lowell  in  1851  visited  Europe  and 
widened  his  acquaintance  with  modern  languages.  A  little  vol 
ume  of  poems  entitled  A  Year's  Life  appeared  in  1841.  This 
was  marked  by  no  great  originality.  In  these  early  verses 
Lowell  showed  himself  to  be  a  young  man  of  sentiment  and 
sometimes  of  sentimentality.  Margaret  Fuller  asserted  that 
neither  the  imagery  nor  the  music  of  his  verse  was  his  own. 
The  lines  quoted  above  acknowledge  the  force  of  this  criticism. 
The  influence  of  Wordsworth  and  Tennyson  may  be  distinctly 
traced  in  most  of  his  early  poems.  But  Lowell  was  not  so  spon 
taneously  and  exclusively  a  poet  as  Longfellow.  His  prose  is 
superior;  wit  sparkles  through  his  essavs  and  in  the  best  parts 
of  the  Fable  for  Critics  and  Biglow  Papers.  The  influence  of 
Heine  can  be  traced  in  Lowell's  prose  and  poetry.  For  his 
brilliant  wit  and  satirical  style  Lowell  is  greatly  indebted  to 
Heine.  Atta  Troll  and  Deutschland  were  favorites  with  Lowell, 
and  his  penchant  for  satire  was  stimulated  and  developed  by  the 
perusal  and  study  of  these  satirical  poems.  That  Atta  Troll 
constantly  haunted  his  mind  we  are  assured  by  the  well-known 
sonnet  The  Dancing  Bear,  previously  quoted. 

Lowell  in  his  essay  on  Lessing  shows  us  how  well  he  was 
acquainted  with  Deutschland.  In  discussing  Lowell's  criticisms 
on  Heine  we  pointed  out  his  appreciation  of  the  German's  wit, 


Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature  149 

humor,  pathos,  grace  and  dainty  lightness.  Lowell's  Harvard 
Anniversary  Address  (1886)  contains  reference  to  Leland's 
translation  of  Heine's  Reisebilder,  and  to  Heine's  hating  the 
Romans  because  they  invented  the  Latin  language. 

His  essay  on  Witchcraft  contains  comment  on  the  quota 
tion  from  Heine :  "Genau  bei  Weibern,  Weiss  man  neimals  wo 
der  Engel  aufhort  und  der  Teufel  anfangt."  Should  we  require 
further  proof  of  Lowell's  familiarity  with  Heine's  characteristic 
style  we  may  get  it  from  W.  D.  Howells'  book  entitled  Liter 
ary  Friends  and  Acquaintances  (New  York,  1900).  On  his  first 
visit  to  New  England  Mr.  Howells  visited  Lowell  and  told  him 
of  the  trouble  he  had  in  finding  him,  and  could  not  help  dragging 
in  something  about  Heine's  search  for  Borne  when  he  went  to 
see  him  in  Frankfurt.  Then  Lowell  spoke  to  Howells  about 
Heine  and  when  Howells  showed  his  ardor  for  the  German  poet, 
he  sought  to  temper  it  with  some  judicious  criticisms  and  told 
Howells  that  he  had  kept  the  first  poem  he  had  sent  him  for  the 
Atlantic  Monthly  for  the  long  time  it  had  been  unacknowledged 
to  make  sure  it  was  not  a  translation  from  Heine.  Mr.  Howells 
in  his  volume  entitled  My  Literary  Passions  tells  us  that  in  some 
prose  sketch  of  his,  Lowell's  keen  analysis  had  found  the  Heine, 
and  that  Lowell  advised  him  to  sweat  the  Heine  out  of  his  bones 
as  men  do  mercury. 

Lowell's  fine  prose  style  shows  the  influence  of  Heine  in  the 
airy  lightness,  wit,  humor,  grace  and  satirical  pungency.  The 
great  difference  between  Lowell's  early  prose  and  that  of  his 
mature  style  is  attributable  to  the  aesthetic  lessons  from  Heine; 
we  observe  a  change  from  polixity,  bombast,  ambiguity,  affected- 
ness,  flatness,  sterility,  and  heaviness  to  simplicity,  lightness, 
brevity,  naturalness,  vigor,  brilliancy,  wit,  humor  and  epigram 
matic  charm.  Many  of  the  witticisms,  epigrams  and  satirical 
shafts  can  be  traced  back  to  similar  utterances  in  the  Reisebilder, 
Atta  Troll  and  Deutschland.  But  we  must  confine  ourselves  to 
Heine's  influence  on  Lowell's  poetry  and  content  ourselves  with 
the  above  remarks  on  the  development  of  the  American  critic's 
prose  style. 


150  Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature 

Lowell's  verse,  while  lacking  to  some  extent  the  evenness 
and  instinctive  grace  of  Heine's  lyrics,  yet  displays  the  same 
melodious  qualities  and  sentimentality.  The  poem  In  the  Twi 
light  Deep  and  Silent  repeats  the  reverie,  longing,  sentimentality, 
subtle  suggestiveness  and  imagery  of  Heine's  lyrics.  The  calm 
beginning,  simplicity  and  melodious  flow  of  verse  also  remind  us 
of  Heine's  manner.  Quite  in  the  manner  of  Heine  is  also  the 
song  What  Reck  I  of  the  Stars?".  The  technique  and  sentimen 
tality  of  the  poem  reminds  us  of  Das  Meer  hat  seine  Perlen. 

In  the  poem  From  the  Close-shut  Windows  Gleams  No  Spark 
we  find  Heine's  melancholy  sigh,  longing,  subtle  suggestiveness, 
pregnant  condensation,  sentimentality,  but  not  his  gleam  of  scorn 
or  mockery.  Heine's  influence  is  again  strongly  in  evidence  in 
the  sentimentality  of  such  early  lyrics  as  O  Moonlight  Deep  and 
Tender.  Of  the  most  convincing  nature  are  the  traces  of  Heine's 
influence  in  the  poem  The  Captive.  Here  we  have  the  manner  of 
Heine's  ballads  imitated.  If  we  compare  it,  for  instance,  with 
The  Pilgrimage  to  Kevlaar  we  see  that  the  methods  employed 
to  produce  the  effect  are  precisely  the  same;  especially  is  this 
noticeable  in  the  incompleteness  and  suggestiveness.  The  gift 
of  describing  by  means  of  introducing  characters  into  lyric  poetry 
was  common  to  both  Heine  and  Lowell.  Another  striking  simi 
larity  is  the  imagery  and  symbolism  employed  in  the  seventh 
strophe  of  this  same  poem,  The  Captive.  Let  us  compare  it  with 
Heine's  matchless  and  famous  poem  Ein  Fichtenbaitm  steht 
einsam : 

Ein  Fichtenbaitm  steht  einsam 
Im  Norden  auf  kahler  Hoh' 
Ihn  schlafert;  mit  weisser  Decke 
Umhullen  ihn  Eis  und  Schnee. 
Er  traumt  von  einer  Palme, 
Die   fern  im  Morgenland 
Einsam  und  schweigend  trauert 
Auf  brennender  Felsenwand. 

The  seventh  strophe  of  Lowell's  poem,  The  Captive,  is  as 
follows : 


Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature  151 

On  a  green  spot  in  the  desert, 
Gleaming  like  an  emerald  star, 
Where  a  palm-tree,  in  lone  silence, 
Yearning  for  its  mate  afar. 
Droops  above  a  silver  runnel, 
Slender  as  a  scimitar. 

Lowell  undoubtedly  had  Heine's  famous  poem  in  mind  when 
he  wrote  these  lines.  Anyone  at  all  familiar  with  Heine's  manner 
and  technique  in  his  ballads  will  be  at  once  struck  by  the  re 
semblance  and  influence  which  such  ballads  as  The  Captive  pre 
sent.  Heine's  influence  is  chiefly  discernible  in  the  manner  em 
ployed  by  Lowell  in  his  lyrical  poems  to  produce  his  effect.  Ac 
cordingly  he  does  this  by  suggestion,  and  indirect  representation 
as  Heine  always  does.  Lowell,  however,  was  not  so  felicitous  in 
reproducing  the  perfection,  grace,  subtlety  of  thought  and  aroma 
of  Heine's  lyrics.  In  this  respect  Lowell  was  surpassed  by  Long 
fellow,  who  succeeded  admirably  in  imitating  Heine's  cadences 
and  style  in  many  poems. 

BAYARD  TAYLOR  (1825-1878). 

Taylor  was  a  man  of  buoyant  and  eager  nature ;  he  possessed 
a  remarkable  memory,  a  talent  for  learning  languages,  and  too 
great  a  readiness  to  take  on  the  hue  of  his  favorite  books.  His 
poetry,  though  full  of  glow  and  picturesqueness  is  largely  imita 
tive,  suggesting  Tennyson  not  infrequently,  but  more  often 
Shelley.  The  dangerous  quickness  with  which  he  caught  the 
manner  of  other  poets  made  him  an  admirable  parodist  and  en 
abled  him  to  give  us  his  wonderful  translation  of  Faust.  The 
dominant  German  influence  in  Taylor  is,  of  course,  Goethe.  His 
whole  life  may  be  said  to  have  been  devoted  to  the  study  of 
Goethe's  life  and  works.  In  his  twelve  lectures  on  German  litera 
ture  delivered  at  Cornell  University,  Taylor  concludes  with  Jean 
Paul.  Of  Heine,  Taylor  speaks  but  seldom  in  his  various  works. 
In  Vie^vs  A-foot  (Chapter  XI)  Taylor  while  speaking  of  Freili- 
graph  remarked:  "He  (Freiligrath)  is  now  in  Paris,  where 
Heine  and  Herwegh,  two  of  Germany's  finest  poets,  both  banished 
for  the  same  reason,  are  living.  The  free  spirit  which  charac- 


152  Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature 

terizes  these  men,  who  come  from  among  the  people,  shows 
plainly  the  tendency  of  the  times." 

From  references  in  Views  A-foot  and  By-Ways  of  Europe 
to  the  Lorelei  legend  and  Barbarossa  in  Kyffhaiiser,  and  from  his 
remarks  90  on  John  B.  Phillips'  translation  of  Heine's  Gods  of 
Greece,  we  learn  of  Taylor's  familiarity  with  Heine's  poems. 
C.  G.  Leland  in  his  Memoirs  (New  York,  1893,  p.  228)  tells  us 
that  Taylor  read  in  conjunction  with  Thackeray,  his  (Leland's) 
translation  of  Heine's  Reisebilder  (1855). 

Heine's  influence  on  Taylor  was  slight  and  manifested  itself 
chiefly  in  his  use  of  the  ballad  or  folksong  measures  and  in  the 
simplicity  of  diction.  The  poem  On  The  Headland  ("The  Poet's 
Journal")  repeats  Heine's  favorite  rhythm  and  also  his  longing 
and  sentimentality.  The  same  rhythm  is  found  in  Exorcism, 
Squandered  Lives,  In  Winter,  etc.  Heine's  symbolism  of  Ein 
Fichtenbaum  steht  einsam  is  evidently  copied  in  the  title  of 
Taylor's  poem  The  Palm  and  the  Pine,  although  there  is  no  other 
resemblance  between  the  two  poems.  A  Picture  (Poems  and 
Lyrics)  is  somewhat  in  Heine's  manner,  repeating  the  favorite 
rhythm,  reverie,  subtle  suggestiveness,  and  longing.  The  same 
smooth  and  quiet  beginning,  the  vision,  the  passion  and  feeling  of 
desolation  that  we  find  so  frequently  in  Heine,  is  characteristic  of 
A  Picture.  Peculiarly  Heineesque  is  the  sudden  recovery  from 
the  reverie  and  revulsion  of  mood  as  expressed  in  the  last  strophe 
of  this  poem  (A  Picture)  : 

I  see  him  through  the  doleful  shades 
Press  onward,  sad  and  slow, 
Till  from  my  dream  the  picture  fades, 
And  from  my  heart  the  woe. 

RICHARD  HENRY  STODDARD. 

In  his  Reminiscences  R.  H.  Stoddard  leads  us  to  believe  that 
he  was  not  a  scholar  and  was  not  able  to  read  foreign  languages. 
But  he  tells  us  that  it  was  his  custom  to  read  translations  of 


90  Life  and  Letters  of  Bayard  Taylor,  edited  by  Taylor  &  Scudder.     4th 
Ed.    Boston,  1885.     Vol.  II,  p.  55. 


Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature  153 

Goethe's  works  and  Bowring's  translations  from  European  lan 
guages.  He  was  united  in  bonds  of  personal  friendship  and  liter 
ary  enthusiasm  with  such  good  German  scholars  as  Bayard 
Taylor,  George  Boker,  E.  C.  Stedmann  and  Eugene  Field,  all 
well  acquainted  with  the  works  of  Heine.  Under  these  circum 
stances  it  is  highly  improbable  that  such  an  eminent  lyric  poet  and 
literary  critic  as  Stoddard  should  have  been  ignorant  of  Heine's 
lyrics.  Positive  and  undeniable  traces  of  Heine  influence  can  be 
found  in  Stoddard's  poems.  The  spontaneous  and  imaginative 
music  of  his  verse  is  produced  largely  by  Heine's  technique.  Pes 
simistic  and  aging  strains  betokening  a  sense  of  life's  weariness 
and  uncertain  skies,  pervade  a  good  deal  of  Stoddard's  poetry 
and  remind  us  of  the  "Weltschmerz"  of  Heine's  poems.  Concern 
ing  this  echo  in  Stoddard,  Richardson  91  says:  "Let  his  best  and 
brightest  self  sing  down  in  a  lyric,  or  weigh  down  with  some 
strong  line  from  sonnet  or  ode,  such  anacreontic  memories,  such 
Cis-Atlantic  echoes  or  sympathetic  answers  of  Heine, — whose 
influence  in  the  world  I  am  almost  ready  to  declare  mischievous." 
By  "anacreontic  memories"  Richardson  means  Stoddard's  songs 
on  Asiatic  themes.  Richardson,92  who  classes  Heine  with  the 
poets  of  the  lesser  order  (Sappho,  Horace,  Petrarch,  Gray, 
Wordsworth),  disapproves  of  this  Heine  influence  in  the 
poems  of  Stoddard.  How  admirably  Stoddard  could  imitate 
Heine's  lyrics  will  be  obvious  if  we  compare  his  poem  Thou 
Pallid  Fisher  maiden  with  Heine's  celebrated  Du  sc  hones  Fischer - 
madchen. 

The  Sea.™ 

(The  Lover.) 

Thou  pallid  fishermaiden, 
That  standest  by  the  shore, 
Why  dost  thou  watch  the  ocean. 
And  hearken  to  its  roar? 


91  American   Literature,   by   C.   F.   Richardson.     New   York,    1895.     Vol. 
II,  p.  253. 

92  American  Literature,  Vol.  II,  p.  151. 

83  The  Poems  of  R.  H.  Stoddard.     Complete  Edition.     New  York,  1882, 
P.  75. 


154  Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature 

It  is  some  Danish  sailor, 
That  sails  the  Spanish  main: 
Nor  will  thy  roses  redden 
Till  he  returns  again. 

Thou  simple  fishermaiden, 
He  cares  no  more  for  thee: 
He  sleeps  with  the  mermaidens, 
The  witches  of  the  sea. 

Thou  should'st  not  watch  the  ocean 
And  hearken  to  its  roar, 
When  bridal  bells  are  ringing 
In  little  kirks  ashore. 

Go,  dress  thee  for  thy  bridal, 
A  stalwart  man  like  me 
Is  worth  a  thousand  sailors, 
Whose  bones  are  in  the  sea. 


A  finer  imitation  of  Heine's  Du  schones  Fischer  made  hen 
could  scarcely  be  made.  The  rhythm,  tone,  spirit,  theme,  senti 
ment  and  manner  are  identical  in  both  poems.  The  first  line  is 
almost  a  translation;  the  adjective  pallid  is  more  appropriate  to 
a  fishermaiden  than  "schones."  Of  poems  repeating  and  re-echo 
ing  the  "Weltschmerz"  and  pessimism,  Stoddard  has  written 
very  many.  These  can  be  easily  found  and  the  Heine  influence 
detected.  But  we  shall  conclude  our  study  on  Stoddard  by  quot 
ing  one  more  delicious  lyric  which  we  regard  as  an  imitation  of 
Heine's  familiar  vein: 


The 

(  The  Lover.  ) 

You  stooped  and  picked  a  red  lipped  shell, 

Beside  the  shining  sea; 

"This  little  shell,  when  I  am  gone, 

Will  whisper  still  of  me." 

I  kissed  your  hands  upon  the  sands, 

For  you  were  kind  to  me. 


Poems  of  R.  H.  Stoddard.    New  York,  1882,  p.  59. 


Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature  155 

I  hold  the  shell  against  my  ear, 

And  hear  its  hollow  roar; 

It  speaks  to  me  about  the  sea, 

But  speaks  of  you  no  more. 

I  face  the  sands,  and  wring  my  hands, 

For  you  are  kind  no  more. 

CHARLES  GODFREY  LELAND  ( 1824-1  qcn). 
While  in  Germany  during  the  years  1845-48  Leland  95  read 
broad  and  wide  in  German  literature,  as  may  be  found  by  ex 
amining  the  notes  to  his  translation  of  Heine's  works.  In  Ger 
many  he  became  a  pupil  of  Professor  Frieclrich  Thiersch  who 
trained  Heine  to  art  Leland  made  the  acquaintance  of  Ole 
Bull,  the  violinist,  who  told  much  about  Heine.  Ole  Bull 
had  known  Heine  very  well  and  he  described  to  Leland  his  bril 
liancy  in  the  most  distinguished  literary  society,  where  in  French 
the  German  wit  bore  away  the  palm  from  all  Frenchmen. 
"Heine  flashed  and  sprayed  in  brilliancy  like  a  fountain."  In 
this  manner  Leland's  enthusiastic  admiration  for  Heine  origi 
nated.  Heine  dominated  his  thoughts  henceforth,  and  all  his 
literary  work  showed  clearly  the  powerful  influence.  Of  Leland 
as  a  critic  and  translator  we  have  already  spoken  in  preceding 
sections.  In  the  preface  to  his  translation  of  the  Rcisebildcr  Le 
land  had  declared  that  no  living  German  writer  had  exerted  an 
influence  comparable  to  that  of  Heine,  and  that  since  Goethe,  no 
author  had  penetrated  so  generally  through  every  class  of 
society.  Traces  of  Heine's  influence  appeared  in  Leland's  early 
works.  The  Hans  Breitmann  Ballads  are  written  in  English  as 
imperfectly  spoken  by  Germans.  Hans  is  a  jocose  burlesque 
of  a  type  of  Germans.  Teutonic  philosophy  and  sentiment,  beer, 
music  and  romance  have  been  made  the  medium  for  laughter. 
Leland  jests  with  the  new  German  philosophy  in  the  manner  of 
Heine.  Breitmann  is  represented  as  one  of  the  battered  types 
of  the  men  of  '48,  whose  education  had  led  him  to  scepticism  and 
indifference.  His  mockery  reminds  us  of  Heine's  predominant 
vein.  But  in  the  case  of  Breitmann  the  mockery  is  accidental  and 
naive,  while  Heine's  is  keen  and  deliberate.  Breitmann's  mock 
ery  differs  from  Heine's  as  drollerv  differs  from  brilliant  satire. 

95  Memoirs  by  C.  G.  Leland.     New  York,  1893,  p.  156. 


156  Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature 

These  poems  abound  in  words,  phrases,  suggestions,  and  coup 
lets  borrowed  from  old  ballads,  from  Heine  and  from  other 
sources.  We  have  burlesque  imitations  of  familiar  ballads  of 
Goethe  and  Heine.  The  influence  of  Heine  is  also  discernible 
in  the  simplicity  of  diction  and  versification,  melody  and  the 
"Volkslied"  tone  that  prevails  throughout  the  various  ballads  and 
songs.  Concerning  Heine's  wit  Hans  Breitmann  remarks: 

'Twas  like  de  sayin'  that  Heine 
Hafe  no  witz  in  him  goot  or  bad : 
Boat  he  only  kept  sayin'  witty  dings, 
To  make  beoples  pelieve  he  had. 

We  often  get  an  echo  from  a  Heine  lyric  in  a  couplet,  as  in 
Am  Rhein,  No.  n,  where  the  following  lines  remind  us  of  simi 
lar  ones  in  the  Lorelei: 

Am  Rhein !  Again  am  Rhein ! 
In  boat  oopon  der  Rhein! 
De  castle-bergs  soft  goldnen 
Im  Abendsonnenschein. 

A  fine  imitation  or  burlesque  of  Heine's  Ich  bin  die  Prin- 
zessin  Use  is  to  be  found  in  the  ballad  Der  noble  Ritter  Hugo.  In 
this  ballad  we  are  also  reminded  of  Heine's  Lorelei  and  Goethe's 
Fischer.  But  it  bears  the  closest  resemblance  to  the  Prinzessin 
Use.  Leland  has  caught  the  manner  of  Heine  admirably  in  this 
ballad,  imitating  every  characteristic  feature. 

Ballad. 

Der  noble  Ritter  Hugo 

Von  Schwillensaufenstein, 

Rode  out  mit  shpeer  and  helmet, 

Und  he  coom  to  de  panks  of  de  Rhine. 

Und  oop  der  rose  a  meer  maid, 
Vot  hadn't  got  nodings  on, 
Und  she  says,  "Oh,  Ritter  Hugo, 
Vhere  you  goes  mit  yourself  alone  ?" 


Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature  157 

And  he  says,  "I  rides  in  de  creenwood 
Mit  helmet  und  mit  spheer, 
Till  I  cooms  into  ein  Gasthaus 
Und  dere  I  trinks  some  beer." 

Und  den  outspoke  de  maiden 
Vot  hadn't  got  nodings  on: 
"I  ton't  dink  mooch  of  beoplesh 
Dat  goes  mit  demselfs  alone. 

"You'd  petter  coom  down  in  de  wasser, 
Vere  dere's  heaps  of  dings  to  see, 
Und  haf  a  shplendid  tinner 
Und  drafel  along  mit  me. 

"Dere  you  sees  de  fisch  a  schwimmin, 
Und  you  catches  dem  efery  one." — 
So  sang  die  wasser  maiden 
Vot  hadn't  got  nodings  on. 

"Dere  ish  drunks  all  full  mit  money 
In  ships  dat  vent  down  of  old ; 
Und  you  helpsh  yourself,  by  dunder ! 
To  shimmerin  crowns  of  gold. 

"Shoost  look  at  dese  shpoons  und  vatches! 
Shoost  see  dese  diamant  rings ! 
Coom  down  und  full  your  bockets, 
Und  I'll  giss  you  like  avery  dings. 

"Vot  you  vantsh  mit  your  schnapps  und  lager? 
Coom  down  into  der  Rhine ! 
Der  ish  pottles  der  Kaiser  Charlemagne 
Vonce  filled  mit  gold-red  wine!" 

Dat  fetched  him — he  shtood  all  shpell  pound ; 
She  pooled  his  coat-tails  down, 
She  drawed  him  oonder  der  wasser, 
De  maiden  mit  nodings  on. 

The  coupling  of  love  and  death  so  characteristic  of  Heine's 
poems  finds  an  echo  in  Leland's  volume  entitled  The  Music  Les 
son  of  Confucius  and  Other  Poems  (Boston,  1872).  This  fact  is 
well  exemplified  in  the  poem  The  Fountain  Fay,  which  is  a  sort 


158  Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature 

of  Lorelei.  The  motto  of  this  poem  might  very  well  be  the  lines 
from  Heine's  prelude  to  the  third  edition  of  his  Book  of  Songs, 
from  which  the  inspiration  is  drawn: 

Entziickende  Marter  und  wonniges  Weh ! 
Der  Schmerz  wie  die  Lust  unermesslich ! 
Derweilen  des  Mundes  Kuss  mich  begliickt, 
Verwunden  die  Tatzen  mich  grasslich 

Die  Nachtigall  sang:    "O  schone  Sphinx! 
O  Liebe!  was  soil  es  bedeuten, 
Dass  du  vermischest  mit  Todesqual 
All  deine  Seligkeiten? 

The  Fountain-Fay** 

Ye  gentles  all  who  love  your  life 
Beware,  beware  the  water  wife! 

She  singeth  soft,  she  singeth  low ; 

Her  lute  is  the  mountain-streamlet's  flow ; 

Her  harp  the  pine-wood's  mournful  moan ; 
She  sits  in  the  forest  and  sings  alone. 

And  her  songs,  like  rippling  rivers  roll ; 
Beware,  beware,  ere  they  drown  the  soul ! 

Ride  where  you  may,  ride  where  you  will, 
The  Fountain-Fay  may  meet  you  still. 

He  rode  alone  in  the  silent  night, 

She  swam  like  a  star  to  his  left  and  right. 

He  rode  by  the  linden  blooming  fair, 
The  wood-bird  sung:  "Oh,  boy,  beware!" 

He  came  to  the  fountain  in  the  wood ; 
The  Fay  in  her  beauty  before  him  stood. 

In  the  starlight,  silver  sparkling  glance 
Her  sisters  swam  in  the  Elfin  dance. 

"Alight,  young  minstrel,  brave  and  gay, 
And  sing  us  thy  sweetest,  strangest  lay !" 


96  The  Music  Lesson  of  Confucius  and  Other  Poems,  by  C.  G.  Leland. 
Boston,  1872,  pp.  102-103. 


Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature  159 

He  tuned  his  lute,  and  the  tinkling  sounds 
Flitted  like  birds  through  the  greenwood  bounds. 

He  sang  so  sweet — he  sang  so  long, 
The  flower-buds  opened  to  hear  his  song. 

He  sang  so  gently  of  maiden  love, 

He  ripened  the  fruit  on  the  boughs  above. 

"Far  in  the  East  is  a  rosy  light ; 

What  shall  he  have  for  his  song  this  night  ?" 

"I  ask  no  more  for  lute  and  lay, 

Than  a  kiss  from  the  lips  of  the  Fountain-Fay." 

She  kissed  him  once — to  the  minstrel's  sight 
The  world  seemed  melting  in  golden  light. 

Once  more  and  his  soul  to  the  land  of  the  fay 
In  beauty  and  music  seemed  floating  away. 

As  she  kissed  him,  again  the  spirit  had  fled: 
He  lay  in  the  moon-rays,  cold  and  dead. 

But  far  from  above  a  whisper  fell: 

"Green  earth,  with  thy  valleys  and  lakes — farewell !" 

Ye  who  know  not  the  life  of  poesy, 
Of  beauty,  romance,  and  fantasie! 

And  who  think  there  can  be  no  world  like  this, 
Beware  of  the  fairy — beware  her  kiss. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  observe  that  to  this  Heineesque 
poem  Leland  has  added  didactic  features  entirely  foreign  to 
Heine's  manner.  Instead  of  the  nightingale  of  Heine's  prelude 
who  asks  the  sphinx  for  a  solution  of  the  mystery  of  this  coup 
ling  of  pleasure  and  pain,  or  love  and  death,  Leland's  didacticism 
induces  him  to  introduce  and  substitute  the  wood-bird  telling  the 
boy  to  beware  of  the  Fay.  The  poem  Waking  Dreams  97  repeats 
Heine's  unlabored  imagery,  reverie,  condensation,  and  subtle  sug- 
gestiveness  together  with  his  yearning  and  disappointment : 


Music  Lesson  of  Confucius,  p.  128. 


160  Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature 

That  thought  is  no  reality, 
Oft  waking  with  a  start,  we  find ; 
But  from  reality  take  thought, — 
How  little  then  remains  behind. 

I  walk  the  greenwood  all  alone, 
And  thou  in  spirit  by  my  side ; 
Ah,  then,  thou  art,  indeed,  my  own, 
A  something  more  than  earthly  bride. 

A  dead  leaf  falls,  the  vision  flies 

Like  morning  mist  from  mountain  stream ; 

Yet  take  that  vision  from  my  life, 

And  life  itself  were  but  a  dream. 


Another  poem  in  this  same  volume  (Music  Lesson  of  Con 
fucius)  displaying  Heine  influence  is  the  one  entitled  The  Dream 
(p.  88).  As  usual  Leland  adds  a  prefatory  strophe  which  Heine's 
suggestive  manner  would  have  left  to  the  imagination.  The 
symbolism  employed  in  this  poem  by  Leland  also  reminds  us  of 
Heine's  manner.  The  effect  is  produced  by  indirect  representa 
tion.  The  sentiment  is  also  quite  that  of  Heine. 

An  ancient  dream  has  wandered 
Through  earth  since  the  earliest  time, 
And  he  o'er  whom  it  sweepeth 
Grows  stern — or  it  may  be  weepeth, 
Like  one  who  suffers  with  longing 
For  a  sweet  yet  terrible  crime. 

It  hath  but  a  single  picture : 
A  fountain  which  leaps  and  foams, 
And  by  it  a  woman  sits  yearning, 
Starting  'mid  reveries — burning 
For  a  love  which  never  comes. 

The  fountain  leaps  up  in  passion, 
Darts  out  in  a  gleaming  pain ; 
And  the  longing  of  him  who  dreameth, 
And  the  passion  of  her  who  seemeth, 
Fall  back  into  foam  again. 


Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature  161 

The  influence  of  Heine's  method  of  description  and  imagery 
is  seen  in  Leland's  poem  Eva.98  The  manner  is  that  of  Heine's 
Sapphire  sind  die  Augen  dein. 

Eva. 

I've  seen  bright  eyes  like  mountain  lakes, 
Reflecting  heaven's  blue; 
And  some  like  black-volcano  gulfs, 
With  wild  fire  flashing  through. 

But  thine  are  like  the  eternal  skies, 
Which  draw  the  soul  afar — 
Their  every  glance  a  meteor, 
And  every  thought  a  star, 

Some  lips  when  robbed  seem  cherries  sweet, 
Small  sin  to  those  who  stole — 
But  thine  are  like  the  Eden  fruit, 
Whose  theft  may  cost  a  soul. 

Oh  coral  fruit  of  paradise ! 
Who  would  not  grasp  the  prize? 
With  heaven  so  near  to  bring  him  back, 
In  those  eternal  eyes. 

In  this  poem  we  have  once  more  the  co-existence  of  pleasure 
and  pain,  love  and  death,  the  surest  evidence  of  Heine's  in 
fluence  in  modern  poetry.  Entirely  in  the  manner  of  Heine  and 
possessing  characteristics  only  found  united  in  Heine's  poetry  is 
Leland's  poem  Then  and  Now."  The  pregnant  brevity,  the 
subtlety  of  thought  and  suggest iveness,  and  particularly  the  last 
two  lines  in  their  epigrammatic  turn  are  peculiar  to  Heine : 

Then  and  Now. 

We  met  and  spoke  in  darkness, 
But  my  spirit  knew  your  grace, 
And  my  heart  had  felt  your  fetters 
Ere  my  eyes  had  seen  your  face. 


98  Music  Lesson  of  Confucius,  p.  118. 
*  Music  Lesson  of  Confucius,  p.  123. 


162  Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature 

That  evening  dream  is  over, 
No  cloud  between  us  rolls ; 
Now  the  light  is  on  our  faces, 
And  the  darkness  in  our  souls. 

If  the  manner,  tone  and  spirit  of  Heine  are  well  reflected 
and  repeated  in  Then  and  Now,  his  reverie,  passion,  longing,  dis 
appointment  and  despair  are  well  reproduced  in  Leland's  Para 
dise  Lost,100  where  Heine's  manner  is  also  imitated. 

Paradise  Lost. 

And  we  are  in  the  winter, 
Sadly  chilled  with  frost  and  snow ! 
Oh,  how  strange  amid  my  memories 
Seems  last  summer's  rosy  glow. 

When  your  bright  eyes  opened  on  me, 
Like  two  dew-filled  lotus  flowers, 
When  I  saw  myself  reflected 
In  the  depths  of  heaven's  bowers. 

But  in  my  deepest  rapture 
It  all  vanished — and  I  fell 
Back  to  artificial  roses : — 
Heavenly  lotus,  fare  thee  well ! 

Many  more  poems  might  be  cited  which  show  Heine's  in 
fluence  in  thought,  tone  and  manner,  but  lack  of  space  forbids; 
and  we  shall  conclude  our  study  of  Leland's  poems  by  quoting 
one  more  very  characteristic  poem,  The  Mountain  and  Sea.101 

The  Mountain  and  Sea. 

When  gazing  on  a  summer  sea 
Beneath  a  purple  sky, 
It  oft  has  seemed  a  mountain  ridge 
Far  rising  blue  and  high. 

Now  gazing  inland  and  afar, 
The  thought  still  comes  to  me, 
How  much  yon  distant  mountain  line 
Is  like  the  dim  blue  sea. 


100  Music  Lesson  of  Confucius,  p.  145. 

101  Music  Lesson  of  Confucius,  p.  129. 


Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature  163 

When  thou  art  seated  by  my  side 
Loved  memories  ever  rise ; 
When  thou  art  gone  up  swells  the  tide 
Of  those  sweet,  sea-blue  eyes. 

WILLIAM  DEAN  HOWELLS  (1837-         ). 

"I  have  never  greatly  loved  an  author,  without  wishing  to 
write  like  him." 

— W.  D.  Howells,  My  Literary  Passions. 

Mr.  Howells  was  born  in  Ohio.  His  early  life  was  that  of 
a  western  country  editor.  In  1860  he  published  jointly  with  his 
friend,  Piatt,  a  book  of  verse,  Poems  of  Two  Friends.  His  part 
was  remarkable  for  little  but  for  its  imitation  of  well-known 
themes  and  styles.  Some  years  later  he  published  a  volume  of 
poems  all  his  own.  The  work  in  this  little  book  was  neatly,  ex 
ecuted;  it  contained  delicate  poetical  conceits  and  flights  of 
fancy;  but  it  was  poor  poetry  and  failed  to  gain  for  its  author 
acceptance  as  a  poet  of  mark  and  eminence.  In  1860  Mr.  Howells 
did  not  wish  to  be  anything  else  but  a  poet.  Lowell  had  accepted 
and  begun  to  print  in  the  Atlantic  Monthly  five  or  six  poems  of 
his.  Besides  this  he  had  written  poems  and  sketches,  and  criti 
cisms  for  the  Saturday  Press,  of  New  York,  and  he  was  always 
writing  poems  and  sketches,  and  criticisms  in  his  own  paper.  He 
read  Thackeray,  Eliot,  Hawthorne,  Reade,  De  Quincey,  Tenny 
son,  Longfellow  and  Heine  and  ever  more  Heine,  where  there  was 
not  something  new  from  the  others.  Mr.  Howells  has  done  his 
work  of  autobiography  with  such  candor  and  thoroughness  that 
we  shall  let  him  relate  his  experience  with  the  works  of  Heine  in 
his  own  words.  In  his  book  entitled  My  Literary  Passions.102  Mr. 
Howells  tells  us  how  he  was  initiated  into  the  study  of  German 
after  he  left  his  position  as  city  editor  in  Cincinnati  and  returned 
to  his  home  in  Columbus,  Ohio :  "At  the  same  time  I  took  up  the 
study  of  German,  which  I  must  have  already  played  with,  at  such 
odd  times  as  I  could  find.  My  father  knew  something  of  it,  and 
that  friend  of  mine  among  the  printers  was  already  reading  it 

102  New  York,  1895,  p.  165  f . 


164  Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature 

and  trying  to  speak  it.  I  had  their  help  with  the  first  steps  so 
far  as  the  recitations  from  Ollendorf  were  concerned,  but  I  was 
impatient  to  read  German,  or  rather  to  read  one  German  poet,  who 
had  seized  my  fancy  from  the  first  line  of  his  I  had  seen.  This 
poet  was  Heinrich  Heine,  who  dominated  me  longer  than  any  one 
author  that  I  have  known.  Where  and  when  I  first  acquainted 
myself  with  his  most  fascinating  genius,  I  cannot  be  sure,  but  I 
think  it  was  in  some  article  of  the  Westminster  Review,  where 
several  poems  of  his  were  given  in  French  and  German;  and 
their  singular  beauty  and  grace  at  once  possessed  my  soul.  I  was 
in  a  fever  to  know  more  of  him,  and  it  was  my  great  good  luck 
to  fall  in  with  a  German  in  the  village  who  had  his  books.  He 
was  a  book-binder,  one  of  those  educated  artisans  whom  the 
Revolution  of  1848  sent  to  us  in  great  numbers.  He  was  a  Han 
overian  and  his  accent  was  then,  I  believe,  the  standard,  though 
Berlinese  is  now  the  accepted  pronunciation.  But  I  cared  very 
little  for  accent ;  my  wish  was  to  get  at  Heine  with  as  little  delay 
as  possible,  and  I  began  to  cultivate  the  friendship  of  that  book 
binder  in  every  way.  ...  I  clothed  him  in  all  the  romantic 
interest,  I  began  to  feel  for  his  race  and  language,  which  now 
took  the  place  of  the  Spaniards  and  Spanish  in  my  affections.  He 
was  of  very  quick  and  gay  intelligence,  with  more  sympathy  for 
my  love  of  my  author's  humor  than  for  my  love  of  his  sentiment, 
and  I  can  remember  very  well  the  twinkle  of  his  little  sharp,  black 
eyes  with  their  Tartar  slant,  and  the  twitching  of  his  keenly- 
pointed  sensitive  nose,  when  we  came  to  some  passage  of  biting 
satire,  or  some  phrases  in  which  the  bitter  Jew  had  unpacked  all 
the  insult  of  his  soul.  We  began  to  read  Heine  together  when  my 
vocabulary  had  to  be  dug  almost  word  by  word  out  of  the  diction 
ary,  for  the  bookbinder's  English  was  rather  scanty  at  the  best, 
and  was  not  literary.  As  for  the  grammar,  I  was  getting  that  up 
as  fast  as  I  could  from  Ollendorf,  and  from  other  sources,  but  I 
was  enjoying  Heine  before  I  well  knew  a  declension  or  a  con 
jugation.  As  soon  as  my  task  was  done  at  the  office,  I  went  home 
to  the  books  and  worked  away  at  them  until  supper.  Then  my 
book-binder  and  I  met  in  my  father's  editorial  room,  and  with  a 
couple  of  candles  on  the  table,  between  us,  and  our  Heine  and 


Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature  165 

the  dictionary  before  us,  we  read  until  we  were  both  tired  out. 
.  .  .  It  seems  to  have  been  summer  when  our  reading  began. 
.  I  can  see  the  perspiration  on  the  shining  forehead  of  the 
book-binder  as  he  looks  up  from  some  brilliant  passage,  to  ex 
change  a  smile  of  triumph  with  me  at  having  made  out  the  mean 
ing  with  the  meagre  facilities  we  had  for  that  purpose.  Some 
times  in  the  truce  we  made  with  the  text,  he  told  a  little  story  of 
his  life  at  home,  or  some  anecdote  relevant  to  our  reading,  or 
quoted  a  passage  from  some  other  author.  It  seemed  to  me  the 
make  of  a  high  intellectual  banquet,  and  I  should  be  glad  if  I 
could  enjoy  anything  as  much  now.  We  walked  home  as  far  as 
his  house;  ...  we  exchanged  a  joyous  'Gute  Nacht,'  and 
I  kept  on  homeward  through  the  dark  and  silent  village  street, 
which  was  really  not  that  street,  but  some  other  where  Heine  had 
been,  some  street  out  of  the  Reisebilder,  of  his  knowledge  or  of 
his  dream.  When  I  reached  home  it  was  useless  to  go  to  bed.  I 
shut  myself  into  my  little  study,  and  went  over  what  we  had  read, 
till  my  brain  was  so  full  of  it  that  when  I  crept  up  to  my  room 
at  last,  it  was  to  lie  down  to  slumbers  which  were  often  mere 
phantasmagory  of  those  witching  Pictures  of  Travel. 
The  German  of  Heine  when  once  you  are  in  the  yoke  of  his  ca 
pricious  genius,  is  very  simple,  and  in  his  poetry  it  is  simple  from 
the  first,  so  that  he  was  perhaps  the  best  author  I  would  have 
fallen  in  with  if  I  wanted  to  go  fast  rather  than  far.  I  found 
this  out  laterwhen  I  attempted  other  German  authors  without  the 
glitter  of  his  wit  or  the  lambent  glow  of  his  fancy  to  light 
me  on  my  hard  way.  I  should  find  it  hard  to  say  just  why  his 
peculiar  genius  had  such  an  absolute  fascination  for  me  from  the 
very  first  and  perhaps  I  had  better  content  myself  with  saying 
simply  that  my  literary  liberation  began  with  almost  the  earliest 
word  from  him;  for  if  he  chained  me  to  himself,  he  freed  me 
from  all  other  bondage.  I  had  been  at  infinite  pains  from  time  to 
time,  now  upon  one  model,  now  upon  another.  ...  I  had 
supposed  with  the  sense  at  times  that  I  was  wrong,  that  the  ex 
pression  of  literature  must  be  different  from  the  expression  of 
life;  that  it  must  be  an  attitude,  a  pose,  with  something  of  state 
or  at  least  of  formality  in  it;  that  it  must  be  this  style,  and  not 


1 66  Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature 

that,  that  it  must  be  like  that  sort  of  acting  which  you  know  is 
acting  when  you  see  it  and  never  mistake  for  reality.  There  are 
a  great  many  children  apparently  grown  up,  and  largely  accepted 
as  critical  authorities,  who  are  still  of  this  youthful  opinion  of 
mine.  But  Heine  at  once  showed  me  that  this  ideal  of  literature 
was  false ;  that  the  life  of  literature  was  from  the  springs  of  the 
best  common  speech,  and  that  the  nearer  it  could  be  made  to  con 
form  in  voice,  look  and  gait,  to  graceful,  easy  picturesque  and 
humorous  or  impassioned  talk,  the  better  it  was.  He  did  not 
impart  those  truths  without  imparting  certain  tricks  with  them, 
which  I  was  careful  to  imitate  as  soon  as  I  began  to  write  in  his 
manner,  that  is  to  say  instantly;  .  .  .  my  final  lesson  from 
him,  or  the  final  effect  of  all  my  lessons  from  him,  was  to  find 
myself,  and  to  be  for  good  or  evil  whatsoever  I  really  was.  I 
kept  on  writing  as  much  like  Heine  as  I  could  for  several  years, 
though,  and  for  a  much  longer  time  than  I  should  have  done  if 
I  had  ever  become  equally  impassioned  of  any  other  author. 
Some  traces  of  his  method  lingered  so  long  in  my  work  that 
nearly  ten  years  afterward  Mr.  Lowell  wrote  me  about  something 
of  mine  that  he  had  been  reading.  'You  must  sweat  the  Heine 
out  of  your  bones  as  men  do  mercury.'  And  his  kindness  for  me 
would  not  be  content  with  less  than  the  entire  expulsion  of  the 
poison  that  had  in  its  good  time  saved  my  life.  I  dare  say  it 
was  all  well  enough  not  to  have  it  in  my  bones  after  it  had  done 
its  office,  but  it  did  do  its  office.  It  was  in  some  prose  sketch  of 
mine  that  his  keen  analysis  had  found  the  Heine,  but  the  foreign 
property  had  been  so  prevalent  in  my  earlier  work  in  verse  that 
he  kept  the  first  contribution  he  accepted  from  me  for  the  Atlantic 
Monthly  a  long  time,  or  long  enough  to  make  sure  that  it  was  not 
a  translation  of  Heine.  Then  he  printed  it,  and  I  am  bound  to  say 
that  the  poem  now  justifies  his  doubt  to  me,  in  so  much  that  I  do 
not  see  why  Heine  should  not  have  had  the  name  of  writing  it  if 
he  had  wanted.  His  potent  spirit  became  immediately  so  wholly 
my  control,  as  the  mediums  say,  that  my  poems  might  as  well  have 
been  communications  from  him  as  far  as  any  authority  of  my 
own  was  concerned ;  and  they  were  quite  like  other  inspirations 
from  the  other  world  in  being  so  inferior  to  the  work  of  the  spirit 


Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature  167 

before  it  had  the  misfortune  to  be  disembodied  and  obliged  to  use 
a  medium.  But  I  do  not  think  that  either  Heine  or  I  had  much 
lasting  harm  from  it,  and  I  am  sure  that  the  good,  in  my  case  at 
least,  was  one  that  can  only  end  with  me.  He  undid  my  hands, 
which  I  had  taken  such  pains  to  tie  behind  my  back,  and  he  for 
ever  persuaded  me  that  though  it  may  be  ingenious  and  surprising 
to  dance  in  chains,  it  is  neither  pretty  nor  useful." 

If  all  authors  were  as  frank  in  acknowledging  their  indebted 
ness  as  Mr.  Howells,  investigations  like  this  would  be  quite  un 
necessary.  It  remains  for  us  merely  to  add  to  and  exemplify  Mr. 
Howells'  remarks  just  quoted.  He  tells  us  also  in  his  Literary 
Passions  that  he  went  on  reading  his  adored  Heine  much  more 
than  Goethe,  Schiller  or  Uhland.  He  went  on  writing  him  too, 
just  as  he  went  on  reading  and  writing  Tennyson.  Heine  was 
always  a  personal  interest  with  him  and  every  word  of  his  made 
Howells  long  to  have  him  say  it  to  him,  and  tell  him  why  he  said 
it.  Heine  bore  to  him  the  message  of  humanity.  He  knew  the 
ugliness  of  Heine's  nature;  his  revengefulness,  and  malice,  and 
cruelty,  and  treachery  and  uncleanness;  and  yet  he  found  him 
supremely  charming  among  the  poets  he  read.  The  tenderness 
Mr.  Howells  still  feels  for  Heine  is  not  a  reasoned  love,  as  he 
himself  acknowledges.  Mr.  Howells  had  a  room-mate  in  Colum 
bus,  Ohio,  who  was  a  contributor  to  the  Atlantic  Monthly  and  who 
read  Browning  as  devotedly  as  Mr.  Howells  read  Heine.  What 
Mr.  Howells  could  not  endure  without  pangs  of  secret  jealousy  was 
that  his  room-mate  should  like  Heine,  too,  and  should  read  him, 
though  in  an  English  version.  Concerning  this  intruder  Mr. 
Howells  writes  in  his  Literary  Passions:  "He  (Mr.  Howells' 
room-mate)  had  found  the  origin  of  those  tricks  and  turns  of 
Heine's  in  Tristram  Shandy  and  the  Sentimental  Journey;  and 
this  galled  me,  as  if  he  had  shown  that  some  mistress  of  my  soul 
had  studied  her  graces  from  another  girl,  and  that  it  was  not  all 
her  own  hair  that  she  wore.  I  hid  my  rancor  as  well  as  I  could, 
and  took  what  revenge  lay  in  my  power  by  insinuating  that  he 
might  have  a  very  different  view  if  he  read  Heine  in  the  origi 
nal." 


1 68  Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature 

While  he  was  in  Venice  as  United  States  Consul,  Mr.  Ho  wells 
devoted  most  of  his  leisure  hours  to  the  study  of  Italian  literature. 
For  the  present  he  went  no  further  in  German  literature,  and  he 
recurred  to  it  in  later  years  only  for  deeper  and  fuller  knowledge 
of  Heine.  In  his  Literary  Friends  and  Acquaintances  (New 
York,  1900)  he  tells  us  that  when  he  was  on  his  first  visit  to  New 
England  in  1860,  he  was  resolved  above  all  things  to  see  things 
as  Heinrich  Heine  saw  them,  or  at  least  to  report  them  as  he  did, 
no  matter  how  they  appeared.  He  went  about  framing  phrases 
to  this  end,  and  trying  to  match  the  objects  of  interest  to  them 
whenever  there  was  the  least  chance  of  getting  them  together. 
He  was  the  mere  response  and  hollow  echo  of  Heine.  The  Italian 
Journeys  appeared  in  1869  an<^  showed  distinct  traces  of  Heine's 
influence  in  the  pseudo-cynicism,  satirical  tone,  and  sentimen 
tality.  In  speaking  of  Genoa  he  repeats  the  remark  from  Reise- 
bilder  that  the  streets  of  Genoa  are  so  narrow  that  the  people  sit 
and  talk  in  their  doorways,  and  touch  knees  with  the  people  sitting 
and  talking  on  the  thresholds  of  the  opposite  side.  When  Mr. 
Howells  classes  the  French  commercial  travelers  as  "cattle"  we 
are  reminded  of  Heine's  famous  division  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Gottingen  (in  Harzreise)  into  professors,  students,  philistines 
and  cattle.  To  illustrate  the  influence  of  Heine  on  Mr.  Howells' 
early  prose  style,  manifesting  itself  in  pseudo-cynicism,  satire, 
wit,  humor  and  epigram,  we  shall  quote  a  passage  from  Chapter 
VI  of  the  Italian  Journeys:  "Like  the  Englishman  who  had  no 
prejudices,  I  do  hate  a  Frenchman ;  and  there  were  many  French 
men  among  our  passengers  on  the  Messina  in  whose  company 
I  could  hardly  have  been  happy,  had  I  not  seen  them  horribly  sea 
sick.  After  the  imprudent  old  gentleman  of  the  sardines  and 
fruit-pie,  these  wretched  Gauls  were  the  first  to  be  seized  with 
the  malady,  which  became  epidemic,  and  they  were  miserable  up 
to  the  last  moment  on  board.  To  the  enormity  of  having  been 
born  Frenchmen  they  added  the  crime  of  being  commercial 
travellers, — a  class  of  fellow-men  of  whom  we  know  little  at 
home,  but  who  are  met  everywhere  in  European  travel.  They 
spend  more  than  half  their  lives  in  movement  from  place  to  place, 
and  they  learn  to  snatch  from  every  kind  of  travel  its  meagre 


Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature  169 

comforts,  with  an  insolent  disregard  of  the  rights  and  feelings  of 
other  passengers.  They  excuse  an  abominable  trespass  with  a 
cool  'Pardon !'  take  the  best  seat  everywhere,  and  especially  treat 
women  with  savage  rudeness,  to  which  an  American  vainly  en 
deavors  to  accustom  his  temper.  I  have  seen  commercial  travellers 
of  all  nations,  and  I  think  I  must  award  the  French  nation  the 
discredit  of  producing  the  most  odious  commercial  travellers  in 
the  world.  The  Englishman  of  this  species  wraps  himself  in  his 
rags,  and  rolls  into  his  corner,  defiantly,  but  not  aggressively 
boorish ;  the  Italian  is  almost  a  gentleman ;  the  German  is  apt  to 
take  sausage  out  of  a  newspaper  and  cut  it  with  his  penknife ;  the 
Frenchman  aggravates  human  nature  beyond  endurance  by  his 
restless  ill-breeding,  and  his  evident  intention  not  only  to  keep  all 
his  own  advantages,  but  to  steal  some  of  yours  upon  the  first 
occasion.  There  were  three  of  these  monsters  on  our  steamer : 
a  slight,  bloodless  young  man,  with  pale  blue  eyes  and  an  in 
credulous  grin;  another,  a  gigantic,  full-bearded  animal  in 
spectacles;  the  third  an  infamous,  plump,  little  creature,  in  ab 
surdly  tight  pantaloons,  with  a  cast  in  his  eye,  and  a  habit  of  suck 
ing  his  teeth  at  table.  When  this  wretch  was  not  writhing  in  the 
agonies  of  sea-sickness,  he  was  on  deck  with  his  comrades,  lec 
turing  them  upon  various  things,  to  which  the  bloodless  young  man 
listened  with  his  incredulous  grin,  and  the  bearded  giant  in  spec 
tacles  attended  with  a  choked  look  about  the  eyes,  like  a  suffering 
ox.  They  were  constantly  staggering  in  and  out  of  their  state 
room,  which  for  my  sins  was  also  mine ;  and  opening  their  abomi 
nable,  commodious,  travelling-bags,  or  brushing  their  shaggy 
heads  at  the  reeling  mirror,  and  since  they  were  born  into  the 
world,  I  think  they  had  never  cleaned  their  finger-nails.  They 
wore  their  hats  at  dinner,  but  always  went  away  after  soup, 
deadly  pale." 

These  passages  indicate  the  influence  of  Heine's  satire, 
humor,  cynicism,  mockery,  and  his  epigrammatic,  light  and  grace 
ful  style.  His  novels  abound  in  quotations  from  Heine.  The 
characters  sing  and  recite  Heine's  songs  in  the  original.  Mr. 
Howell's  prose  contains  numerous  allusions,  echoes  and  reminis 
cences  from  Heine's  lyrics.  A  fine  illustration  of  this  is  found 


170  Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature 

in  the  Italian  Journeys  in  the  chapter  entitled  Forza  Maggiore, 
In  this  chapter  the  author  speaks  of  Grossetto  and  says  among 
other  things:  "Further,  one  may  say  that  Grosetto  is  on  the  dili 
gence  road  from  Avita  Vecchia  to  Leghorn  and  that  in  the  very 
heart  of  the  place  there  is  a  very  lovely  palm-tree,  rare,  if  not 
sole,  in  that  latitude.  This  palm  stands  in  a  well-sheltered,  dull, 
little  court,  out  of  everything's  way,  and  turns  tenderly  towards 
the  wall  that  shields  it  on  the  north.  It  has  no  other  company  but 
a  beautiful  young  girl,  who  leans  out  of  a  window  high  over  its 
head,  and  I  have  no  doubt  talks  with  it.  At  the  moment  we  dis 
covered  the  friends,  the  maiden  was  looking  pathetically  to  the 
northward,  while  the  palm  softly  stirred  and  opened  its  plumes, 
as  a  bird  does  when  his  song  is  finished ;  and  there  is  very  little 
question  but  it  had  just  been  singing  to  her  that  song  of  which 
the  palms  are  so  fond — 

'Ein  Fichtenbaum  steht  einsam 
In  Norden  auf  kahler  Hoh.' 

"Grossetto  does  her  utmost,  to  hide  the  secret  of  this  tree's 
existence,  as  if  a  hard,  matter-of-fact  place  ought  to  be  ashamed 
of  a  sentimentality  of  the  kind." 

The  reference  is,  of  course,  to  Heine's  song  Ein  Fichtenbaum 
steht  einsam,  and  from  this  poem  Howells  derived  his  inspiration 
for  his  poetical  description  of  Grossetto.  His  description  of 
Padua  is  entirely  in  the  manner  of  Heine.  The  charm  derived 
from  sauntering,  the  reveries,  and  meditations  and  the  capricious 
views  remind  us  at  once  of  similar  passages  in  the  Rcisebilder. 
Other  characteristic  passages  might  be  cited  from  the  Italian 
Journeys  to  show  Heine's  influence  but  these  will  be  sufficient 
for  our  purpose.  Many  of  the  brilliant,  witty  remarks  and  sar 
casms  in  the  Suburban  Sketches  are  slight  modifications  or  render 
ings  of  Heine's.  In  the  sketch  entitled  A  Day's  Pleasure  we  find 
the  following  passage :  "I  never  see*  one  of  those  fellows," 
(sentries)  says  Cousin  Frank,  "without  setting  him  to  the  music 
of  that  saddest  and  subtlest  of  Heine's  poems.  You  know  it 
Lucy"  ;  and  he  repeats: 


Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature  171 

Mein  Herz,  mein  Herz,  ist  traurig 
Doch  lustig  leuchtet  der  Mai ; 
Ich  stehe  gelehnt  an  der  Linde, 
Hoch  auf  der  alten  Bastei. 

Am  alten  grauen  Thurme 
Ein  Schilderhauschen  steht ; 
Ein  rothgerockter  Bursche 
Dort  auf  und  nieder  geht. 

Er  spielt  mit  seiner  Flinte, 
Sie  funkelt  im  Sonnenroth, 
Er  praesentiert,  und  schultert, — 
Ich  wollt,  'er  schosse  mich  todt.' 


"Oh !"  says  Cousin  Lucy,  either  because  the  poignant  melan 
choly  of  the  sentiment  has  suddenly  pierced  her,  or  because  she 
does  not  quite  understand  the  German,  "you  never  can  tell  about 
women." 

The  condensation  of  thought  or  pregnant  brevity  is  so  re 
markable  in  Heine's  poems  that  a  poem  like  the  one  above  quoted 
often  suggested  a  whole  scene  in  Mr.  Howells'  sketches. 

Even  such  a  late  work  as  Literature  and  Life  (New  York, 
1902)  reveals  traces  of  Heine  influence.  Especially  characteristic 
for  wit,  humor,  sarcasm,  mockery  and  cynicism  are  such  chapters 
as  the  one  on  The  Psychology  of  Plagiarism.  Mr.  Howells' 
detestation  of  the  English  finds  an  antecedent  and  parallel  in 
Heine's  hatred  of  the  same  people  as  expressed  in  his  English 
Fragment.  Sir  Walter  Besant  says  that  Mr.  Howells  is  the  only 
American  who  hates  the  English  nation.  Traces  of  Heine's 
cynicism  still  linger  in  him.  We  shall  now  turn  our  attention  to 
his  relatively  unimportant  verse,  which  is  dominated  and  sad 
dened  by  the  influence  of  Heine.  Mr.  Howells  has  already  char 
acterized  his  early  verse  and  it  only  remains  for  us  to  cite  ex 
amples  of  his  imitations  of  Heine.  First  we  shall  quote  the 
poem  which  was  published  in  the  Atlantic  Monthly  (January, 
1860)  and  which  Lowell  suspected  of  being  a  translation  from 
Heine.  The  poem  is  so  obviously  and  thoroughly  Heineesque 
that  it  is  useless  for  us  to  point  out  parallels  and  resemblances  in 


172  Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature 

Heine's  Buck  der  Lieder.  The  same  melancholy  sigh,  the  longing, 
the  disappointment,  the  passionate  love  coupled  with  the  thought 
of  death,  that  pervade  and  form  the  themes  of  Heine's  poems  are 
imitated  and  expressed  in  Heine's  manner  and  favorite  rhythm. 
Mr.  Howells  succeeded  in  imitating  and  reproducing  the  subtle 
charm  and  suggestiveness  so  characteristic  of  Heine's  poems. 

Motto  from  Heine:     Das  Vengnugen  ist  Nichts  als  ein  hochst 
angenehmer  Schmerz. 

Andenken.105 
I. 

Through  the  silent  streets  of  the  city, 
In  the  night's  unbusy  noon, 
Up  and  down  in  the  pallor, 
Of  the  languid  summer  moon. 

I  wander  and  think  of  the  village, 
And  the  house  in  the  maple-gloom, 
And  the  porch  with  the  honeysuckles 
And  the  sweet-brier  all  abloom. 

My  soul  is  sick  with  the  fragrance, 
Of  the  dewy  sweet-brier's  breath : 
Oh,  darling!  the  house  is  empty, 
And  lonesomer  than  death ! 

If  I  knock,  no  one  will  come; — 
The  feet  are  at  rest  forever, 
If  I  call  no  one  will  answer; 
And  the  lips  are  cold  and  dumb. 

The  summer  moon  is  shining 
So  wan  and  large  and  still, 
And  the  weary  dead  are  sleeping 
In  the  graveyard  under  the  hill. 

II. 

We  looked  at  the  wide,  white  circle 
Around  the  autumn  moon, 
And  talked  of  the  change  of  weather, 
It  would  rain,  to-morrow,  or  soon. 


108  Atlantic  Monthly,  5,  p.  100  f. 


Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature  173 

And  the  rain  came  on  the  morrow, 
And  beat  the  dying  leaves 
From  the  shuddering  bows  of  the  maples 
Into  the  flooded  eaves. 

The  clouds  wept  out  their  sorrow; 
But  in  my  heart  the  tears 
Are  bitter  for  want  of  weeping, 
In  all  these  autumn  years. 


III. 

It  is  sweet  to  be  awake  musing 
In  all  she  has  said  and  done, 
To  dwell  on  the  words  she  uttered, 
To  feast  on  the  smiles  I  won. 

To  think  with  what  passion  at  parting 
She  gave  me  my  kisses  again, — 
Dear  adieux,  and  tears  and  caresses, — 
Oh,  love!  was  it  joy  or  pain? 

To  brood  with  a  foolish  rapture, 
On  the  thought  that  it  must  be 
My  darling  this  moment  is  waking 
With  tender est  thoughts  of  me! 

0  sleep!  are  thy  dreams  any  sweeter? 

1  linger  before  thy  gate 

We  must  enter  at  it  together, 
And  my  love  is  loath  and  late. 


IV. 

The  bobolink  sings  in  the  meadow, 
The  wren  in  the  cherry-tree; 
Come  hither,  then  little  maiden, 
And  sit  upon  my  knee. 

And  I  will  tell  thee  a  story 
I  read  in  a  book  of  rhyme ; — 
I  will  but  feign  that  it  happened 
To  me,  one  summer-time. 


174  Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature 

When  we  walked  through  the  meadow, 
And  she  and  I  were  young; — 
The  story  is  old  and  weary 
With  being  said  and  sung. 

The  story  is  old  and  weary 
Oh,  child!  is  it  known  to  thee? 
Who  was  it  that  last  night  kissed  thee 
Under  the  cherry-tree 

V. 

Like  a  bird  of  evil  presage, 

To  the  lonely  house  on  the  shore 

Came  the  wind  with  a  tale  of  shipwreck, 

And  shrieked  at  the  bolted  door. 

And  flapped  its  wings  in  the  gables, 
And  shouted  the  well-known  names, 
And  buffeted  the  windows 
Afeard  in  their  shuddering  frames. 

It  was  night  and  it  was  day-time, 

The  morning  sun  is  bland, 

The  white  cap  waves  come  rocking,  rocking, 

Into  the  smiling  land. 

The  white  cap  waves  come  rocking,  rocking, 
In  the  sun  so  soft  and  bright, 
And  toss  and  play  with  the  dead  man 
Drowned  in  the  storm  last  night 

VI. 

I  remember  the  burning  brushwood, 
Glimmering  all  day  long 
Yellow  and  weak  in  the  sunlight, 
Now  leaped  up  red  and  strong. 

And  fired  the  old  dead  chestnut, 
That  all  our  years  had  stood, 
Gaunt  and  gay  and  ghostly, 
Apart  from  the  sombre  wood. 


Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature  175 

And  flushed  with  sudden  summer, 
The  leafless  boughs  on  high 
Blossomed  in  dreadful  beauty 
Against  the  darkened  sky. 

We  children  sat  telling  stories 
And  boasting  what  we  should  be, 
When  we  were  men  like  our  fathers, 
And  watched  the  blazing  tree. 

That  showered  its  furry  blossoms, 
Like  a  rain  of  stars,  we  said, 
Of  crimson  and  azure  and  purple 
That  night  when  I  lay  in  bed. 

I  could  not  sleep  for  seeing, 
Whenever  I  closed  my  eyes, 
The  tree  in  its  dazzling  splendor 
Against  the  darkened  skies. 

I  cannot  sleep  for  seeing, 
With  closed  eyes  to-night, 
The  tree  in  its  dazzling  splendor, 
Dropping  its  blossoms  bright. 

And  old,  old  dreams  of  childhood 
Come  thronging  my  weary  brain, 
Dear  foolish  beliefs  and  longings, 
I  doubt,  are  they  real  again  ? 

It  is  nothing,  and  nothing,  and  nothing, 
That  I  either  think  or  see;— 
The  phantoms  of  dead  illusions 
To-night  are  haunting  me. 


A  more  Heineesque  poem  would  be  hard  to  find; — a 
mingling  of  pessimism,  joy,  pain,  sentiment  and  sentimentality, 
particularly  the  mockery  in  the  last  lines. 

Another  poem  in  the  same  manner  appeared  in  the  Atlantic 
Monthly  (April,  1860)  : 


176  Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature 

Lost  Beliefs. 

One  after  one  they  left  us, 
The  sweet  birds  out  of  our  breasts 
Went  flying  away  in  the  morning 
Will  they  come  again  to  their  nests  ? 

Will  they  come  again  at  nightfall, 
With  God's  breath  in  their  song? 
Noon  is  fierce  with  the  heats  of  summer, 
And  summer  days  are  long! 

Oh,  my  life!  with  thy  upward  liftings, 
Thy  downward-striking  roots, 
Ripening  out  of  thy  tender  blossoms 
But  hard  and  bitter  fruits, — 

In  thy  boughs  there  is  no  shelter 
For  my  birds  to  seek  again ! 
Ah!  the  desolate  nest  is  broken 
And  torn  with  storms  and  rain! 

The  volume  of  Poenis  published  by  W.  D.  Howells  in  1886 
(Boston,  Ticknor  &  Co.),  is  a  collection  of  poems  previously 
published  in  magazines,  and  contains  many  poems  written  in  the 
manner  of  Heine. 

Passion,  tenderness,  yearning,  waiting,  doubting  and  despair 
is  the  theme  of  the  poem  Forlorn;  the  manner  is  that  of  Heine; 
reverie  and  suggestiveness  are  the  means  of  delineation.  A  very 
close  imitation  of  Heine's  theme  and  manner  is  the  poem  Pleas 
ure-Pain.  The  motto  is  from  Heine:  "Das  vergniigen  ist  Nichts 
als  ein  hochst  angenehmer  Schmerz."  A  portion  of  this  we  have 
already  cited  under  Andenken.  It  is  really  made  up  of  a  series  of 
poems  in  the  same  vein.  To  the  ones  that  appeared  in  the 
Atlantic  Monthly,  Mr.  Howells  afterwards  wrote  the  following 
verses  in  the  same  vein : 

Full  of  beautiful  blossoms 
Stood  the  tree  in  early  May : 
Came  a  chilly  gale  from  the  sunset, 
And  blew  the  blossoms  away; 


Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature  177 

Scattered  them  through  the  garden, 
Tossed  them  into  the  mere : 
The  sad  tree  moaned  and  shuddered, 
"Alas!  the  Fall  is  here." 

But  all  through  the  glowing  summer 
The  blossomless  tree  throve  fair, 
And  the  fruit  waxed  ripe  and  mellow, 
With  sunny  rain  and  air. 

And  when  the  dim  October 
With  golden  death  was  crowned, 
Under  the  heavy  branches 
The  tree  stooped  to  the  ground. 

In  youth  there  comes  a  west  wind 
Blowing  our  bloom  away, — 
A  chilly  breath  of  Autumn 
Out  of  the  lips  of  May. 

We  bear  the  ripe  fruit  after, — 
Ah,  me!  for  the  thought  of  pain!— 
We  know  the  sweetness  and  beauty 
And  the  heart-bloom  never  again. 

One  sails  away  to  sea, 

One  stands  on  the  shore  and  cries ; 

The  ship  goes  down,  the  world,  and  the  light 

On  the  sullen  water  dies. 

The  whispering  shell  is  mute, 

And  after  is  evil  cheer : 

She  shall  stand  on  the  shore  and  cry  in  vain, 

Many  and  many  a  year. 

But  the  stately,  wide-winged  ship 
Lies  wrecked  on  the  unknown  deep; 
Far  under,  dead  in  his  coral  bed, 
The  lover  lies  asleep. 

The  same  gloom  and  melancholy  tone,  and  sad  dreaming 
pervade  the  poem  In  August.  The  nature-symbolism  and  sugges 
tion  are  those  of  Heine.  The  little  drowsy  stream  dreams  of 
June,  the  robins  are  mute,  there  is  no  wind  to  stir  the  leaves,  the 
cricket  grieves.  All  nature  bewails  the  dead  summer  The  same 


i/8  Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature 

might  be  said  about  The  Empty  House,  a  dreary  and  desolate 
place  where  mystery,  ghosts  and  gloom  linger.  Heine's  reverie, 
melancholy,  and  mockery  are  reproduced  and  repeated  in  Heine's 
manner  with  his  symbolism,  indirect  representation,  subtle  sug- 
gestiveness  and  conciseness  in  the  poem  Bubbles: 

I. 

I  stood  on  the  brink  in  childhood, 
And  watched  the  bubbles  go 
From  the  rock- fretted  sunny  ripple 
To  the  smoother  tide  below. 

And  over  the  white  creek-bottom, 
Under  them  every  one, 
Went  golden  stars  in  the  water, 
All  luminous  with  the  sun. 

But  the  bubbles  broke  on  the  surface, 
And  under,  the  stars  of  gold 
Broke;  and  the  hurrying  water 
Flowed  onward,  swift  and  cold. 

II. 

I  stood  on  the  brink  in  manhood, 
And  it  came  to  my  weary  brain, 
And  my  heart,  so  dull  and  heavy 
After  the  years  of  pain. 

That  every  hollowest  bubble 
Which  over  my  life  had  passed 
Still  into  its  deeper  current 
Some  heavenly  gleam  had  cast. 

That,  however,  I  mocked  it  gayly, 
And  guessed  at  its  hollowness, 
Still  shone,  with  each  bursting  bubble, 
One  star  in  my  soul  the  less. 

Reminding  us  of  Heine's  manner  is  the  delicious  suggestive- 
ness  of  the  poem  Gone.  A  mere  suggestion  and  yet  what  a  multi 
tude  of  thoughts  arise  on  reading  it.  Entirely  in  Heine's  manner 
is  the  little  fragment  The  Sarcastic  Fair: 


Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature  179 

"  Her  mouth  is  a  honey-blossom, 
No  doubt,  as  the  poet  sings ; 
But  within  her  lips,  the  petals, 
Lurks  a  cruel  bee,  that  stings." 

These  lines  recall  those  from  Heine's  Vorrede  zur  dritten 
Auflage  (Buck  der  Lieder),  referring  to  the  Sphinx. 

Entziickende  Marter  und  wonniges  Weh ! 
Der  Schmerz  wie  die  Lust  unermesslich ! 
Derweilen  des  Mundes  Kuss  mich  beglikkt, 
Verwunden  die  Tatzen  mich  grasslich. 

In  the  poem  Rapture  we  again  have  anguish,  despair,  mourn 
ing,  the  joining  of  love  with  death.  Love  and  pain,  longing  and 
disappointment  are  sung  in  the  poem  The  Thorn,  with  the  recog 
nition  of  the  fact  that  every  rose  has  its  thorn.  The  sad  mystery 
of  life  is  sentimentally  lamented  in  the  poem,  The  Mysteries,  with 
Heine's  characteristic  brevity. 

The  poem,  Snow-Birds,  recalls  Heine's  Traumbilder,  from 
which  the  inspiration  is  doubtless  derived.  A  clever  imitation  of 
Heine's  manner  as  seen  in  such  poems  as  Der  bleiche,  herbstliche 
Halbmond;  Wir  sassen  am  Fischerhause ;  Wallfahrt  nach  Kev- 
laar,  is  given  us  in  Mr.  Howells'  poem  entitled  Feuerbilder.  The 
tone,  spirit,  and  sentiment,  and  especially  the  mockery  in  the  last 
lines,  are  like  Heine  from  beginning  to  end.  The  rhythm  is  also 
that  usually  employed  by  Heine  in  such  poems.  Noteworthy  is 
also  the  calm  beginning. 

Feuerbilder. 

The  children  sit  by  the  fireside 
With  their  little  faces  in  bloom; 
And  behind,  the  lily-pale  mother, 
Looking  out  of  the  gloom. 

Flushes  in  cheek  and  forehead 
With  a  light  and  sudden  start; 
But  the  father  sits  there  silent, 
From  the  fire-light  apart. 


180  Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature 

"  Now,  what  dost  thou  see  in  the  embers  ? 
Tell  it  to  me,  my  child," 
Whispers  the  lily-pale  mother 
To  her  daughter  sweet  and  mild. 

"  O,  I  see  a  sky  and  a  moon 
In  the  coals  and  ashes  there, 
And  under,  two  are  walking, 
In  the  garden  of  flowers  so  fair. 

"  A  lady  gay,  and  her  lover, 
Talking  with  low  voiced  words, 
Not  to  waken  the  dreaming  flowers 
And  the  sleepy  little  birds." 

Back  in  the  gloom  the  mother 

Shrinks  with  a  sudden  sigh, 

"Now,  what  dost  thou  see  in  the  embers?" 

Cries  the  father  to  the  boy. 

"  O,  I  see  a  wedding  procession 
Go  in  at  the  church's  door, — 
Ladies  in  silk  and  knights  in  steel,— 
A  hundred  of  them,  and  more. 

"  The  bride's  face  is  as  white  as  a  lily, 
And  the  groom's  head  is  as  white  as  snow ; 
And  without,  with  plumes  and  tapers, 
A  funeral  paces  slow." 

Loudly  then  laughed  the  father, 
And  shouted  again  for  cheer, 
And  called  to  the  drowsy  housemaid 
To  fetch  him  a  pipe  and  beer. 

Reverie,  longing  and  the  usual  Heine  characteristics  are  in 
corporated  in  the  poem,  While  She  Sang.  Many  more  poems 
might  be  mentioned  which  contain  distinct  traces  of  Heine's  in 
fluence.  We  shall  now  quote  three  short  poems  which  display 
this  influence  in  a  concise  manner:  disappointment,  unrequited 
love,  longing,  insuperable  obstacles  and  cynical  mockery  are 
their  themes: 

A  Poet. 

From  wells  where  Truth  in  secret  lay, 
He  saw  the  midnight  stars  by  day. 


Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature  181 

"O  marvellous  gift!"  the  many  cried, 
"O  cruel  gift!"  his  voice  replied. 

The  stars  were  far  and  cold  and  high, 
That  glimmered  in  the  noon  day  sky ; 

He  yearned  toward  the  sun  in  vain, 
That  warmed  the  lives  of  other  men. 

Convention. 

He  falters  on  the  threshold, 
She  lingers  on  the  stair : 
Can  it  be  that  was  his  footstep? 
Can  it  be  that  she  is  there? 

Without  is  tender  yearning, 

And  tender  love  is  within ; 

They  can  hear  each  other's  heart-beats 

But  a  wooden  door  is  between. 

The  Poet's  Friends. 

The  robin  sings  in  the  elm, 

The  cattle  stand  beneath, 

Sedate  and  grave,  with  great  brown  eyes 

And   fragrant  meadow-breath. 

They  listen  to  the  flattered  bird, 
The  wise-looking,  stupid  things; 
And  they  never  understand  a  word 
Of  all  the  robin  sings. 

Certain  it  is  that  Mr.  Howells  did  his  future  poetical  reputa 
tion  an  injustice  by  electing  to  have  it  estimated  from  the  per 
formance  and  promise  of  these  imitations.  This  became  evident 
when  he  published  Stops  of  Various  Quills  (New  York,  1895). 
This  book  of  verse  possesses  high  quality;  indeed,  if  Mr.  Howells 
had  never  published  anything  but  Stops  of  Various  Quills,  the 
probability  is  that  he  would  have  taken  rank  as  a  poet  of  marked 
individuality  and  high  achievement.  These  lyrics  are  mostly  of 
a  philosophical  character,  but  always  truly  poetical,  because  they 
are  always  expressive  of  emotion,  sometimes  of  purely  senti 
mental  emotion.  The  influence  of  Heine  is  still  seen  in  the 


1 82  Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature 

spirit-anguish.  A  brooding  melancholy  resultant  of  the  unsatis 
fied  craving  of  a  high,  idealistic  intelligence  pervades  the  volume. 
The  "Weltschmerz"  is  still  present  in  his  verse.  But  this  melan 
choly  is  lit  up  with  a  gleam  here  and  there  of  vague,  undefined 
faith  and  trust  in  things  as  they  are,  in  the  ultimate  issue  of  all. 
The  poems  are  intense,  but  sober;  often  prompted  by  spiritual 
pain,  but  withal,  calm  and  serene.  Their  tune  seems  sometimes 
over-morbid  as  in  Heine.  In  both  Heine  and  Howells  this  tone 
is  the  echo  of  real  feeling  and  no  mere  affectation.  The  Stops  of 
Various  Quills  come  very  near  to  perfection  in  form,  thus  show 
ing  that  Mr.  Howells  still  benefited  by  the  lessons  he  learned 
from  Heine.  These  poems  are  curiously  simple  in  structure  and 
diction,  but  none  the  less  forceful  and  artistic.  They  are  brief  and 
concise ;  not  a  line,  not  a  word  too  many.  Their  imagery  is  fresh 
and  striking;  their  coloring  is  warm,  human,  and  natural.  That 
Heine's  irresistible  spell  is  still  somewhat  effective  is  clearly  in 
dicated  in  such  poems  as  the  Bewildered  Guest  and  Question, 
which  may  have  drawn  their  inspiration  from  such  poems  as  Am 
Meer,  am  wusten,  n'dchtlichen  Meer.  The  pseudo-cynicism  is 
also  in  evidence  in  a  few  of  the  poems,  such  as  Society  and 
Heredity. 

THOMAS  BAILEY  ALDRICH  (1836-         ). 

Mr.  Aldrich's  charm  is  French  and  classic  as  distinguished 
from  German  and  Romantic.  The  influence  of  Hafiz,  Herrick, 
Tennyson  and  Keats  can  also  be  traced  in  his  poetry.  That  he 
was  but  little  attracted  by  such  poets  as  Heine  is  evident  from 
the  following  verses: 

I  little  read  those  poets  who  have  made 
A  noble  art,  a  pessimistic  trade, 
And  trained  their  Pegasus  to  draw  a  hearse 
Through  endless  avenues  of  drooping  verse. 

Yet  in  the  finish,  suggestiveness  and  symbolism  we  are 
often  reminded  of  Heine.  In  the  volume  Flower  and  Thorn 
(Boston,  1877),  the  poems  An  Untimely  Thought  Rencontre, 
Identity  and  Destiny,  recall  Heine  in  their  unlabored  suggestive- 


Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature  183 

ness,  but  in  sentiment,  tone  and  manner  they  are  entirely  remote 
from  that  poet.  The  Pine  and  the  Walnut  (Atlantic  Monthly, 
Vol.  XXXV,  531),  in  its  symbolism  recalls  Heine's  Pine  and 
Palm.  An  echo  of  Heine  is  seen  in  Mr.  Aldrich's  fine  sonnet, 
The  Lorelei.  Mr.  Aldrich  is  only  indebted  to  Heine  for  the 
theme;  the  manner,  tone  and  spirit  are  entirely  different  from 
Heine's  famous  song: 

The  Lorelei™* 

Yonder  we  see  it  from  the  steamer's  deck, 
The  haunted  mountain  of  the  Lorelei— 
The  hanging  crags  sharp-cut  against  a  sky 
Clear  as  a  sapphire  without  flaw  or  fleck. 
'Twas  here  the  Siren  lay  in  wait  to  wreck, 
The  fisher-lad,  at  dusk,  as  he  rowed  by, 
Perchance  he  heard  her  tender  amorous  cry, 
And,  seeing  the  wondrous  whiteness  of  her  neck, 
Perchance  would  halt,  and  lean  towards  the  shore, 
Then  she  by  that  soft  magic  which  she  had 
Would  lure  him,  and  in  gossamers  of  her  hair, 
Gold  upon  gold,  would  wrap  him  o'er  and  o'er, 
Wrap  him,  and  sing  to  him,  and  drive  him  mad, 
Then  drag  him  down  to  no  man  knoweth  where. 


JOHN  A.  DoRGAN.105 

This  obscure  poet  was  a  servile  imitator  of  Heine.  His 
poems  deal  with  Heine's  favorite  themes — love  and  death,  melan 
choly,  sighing,  disappointment,  nightingales,  reveries,  dreams,  and 
sphinxes.  The  manner,  tone,  spirit,  are  entirely  Heine's,  even 
the  mockery  in  the  last  lines  is  reproduced.  The  Tannhduser 
ballad  is  a  cheap  imitation  of  Heine's  famous  ballad.  The  Bard 
of  Pain  is  evidently  a  poem  commemorative  of  Heine.  We  shall 
give  but  one  specimen  of  these  imitations,  The  Mermaid,  an 
imitation  of  Heine's  Lorelei: 


04  The  Poems  of   T.  B.  Aldrich.     Boston   and    New   York.     Houghton, 
Mifflin  &  Co.,  p.  393. 

106  Studies,  by  J.  A.  Dorgan.    3d  Ed.    Philadelphia,  1866. 


184  Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature 

The  mermaid  sits  in  the  moonshine  white, 

And  sings  as  she  combs  her  hair, 

A  marvellous  song  that  thrills  the  night 

With  its  burden  strange,  Beware !  Beware !  Beware ! 

And  the  billows  begin  to  tremble  and  moan — 

To  moan  and  dash  themselves  at  her  feet, 

As,  ere  her  lips,  their  hearts  repeat 

The  strain  they  long  have  known — 

The  serpent  strain  they  have  heard  so  oft, 

So  lithe,  so  deadly  bright  and  soft ; 

And  the  winds,  her  bodiless  slaves, 

Arise  from  their  secret  caves, 

And  howl,  as  if  to  drown  the  strain. 

Of  her  tremulous  song: 
In  vain!  in'vain!  its  wild  refrain 

They  deepen  and  prolong. 

Gone  is  the  magic  moon; 

And  over  the  sky,  so  late,  so  fair, 

As  black  cloud  drifts,  through  whose  rugged  rifts 

The  stars  like  torches  flare ; 

And  out  of  the  howling  foam  beneath 

Come  sounds  of  peril  and  pain  and  death ; 

Voices  that  tell  of  the  shipwreck  there; 

Shrieks  and  curses  of  drowning  men; 

And  now  and  then, 

Sobs  and  sighs  that  lift  the  hair 

And  lie  like  a  curse  on  the  fainting  air ; 

And  now  and  then  above  the  war 

Of  darkness  and  despair, 

The  mocking  pain  of  that  wild  refrain, 

Beware !  Beware !  Beware !  Beware ! 


L.  G.  THOMAS. 

In  his  volume  of  Poems  (New  York,  1871),  Thomas  gives 
us  an  imitation  of  Heine's  Lorelei.  Other  poems  in  the  volume 
show  traces  of  Heine's  influence,  but  as  this  poet  is  almost  un 
known,  we  shall  content  ourselves  with  quoting  his  imitation  of 
the  Lorelei; 


Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature  185 

Lorelei. 

Lorelei,  so  wildly  sad 
The  song  of  love  thou  singest  me, 
The  very  grief  that  drove  thee  mad 
Hath  made  me  mad  for  love  of  thee. 

Thou  sittest  on  yon  rocky  height, 
O'er  calm,  sad  hrow  thy  raven  hair 
Floats  free  as  if  in  joy's  despite, 
In  all  the  beauty  of  despair. 

And  gazing  on  that  face  so  fair, 
From  whence  all  joy  is  banished  quite, 
I  know  calm  grief  to  be  more  rare 
Than  ever  is  loose-tressed  delight. 

Therefore,  I  reck  not  of  my  boat, 
Which  heaveth  with  the  heaving  wave; 
But  onward,  onward,  let  it  float,— 
Why  should  I  shun  a  watery  grave? 

But  I  will  ever  gaze,  and  gaze 

Up  to  thy  face,  while  to  my  death 

I  drift,  and  drift,  through  fearful  maze; 

To  catch  each  tone  I  hold  my  breath. 

And  I  will  perish  at  thy  feet, 
Nor  lose  one  glance  of  those  sweet  eyes, 
O  thus  to  perish  were  more  sweet, 
More  sweet  than  opening  Paradise ! 

EMMA  LAZARUS  (1849-1887). 

Books  were  the  world  for  Emma  Lazarus  from  her  earliest 
years ;  in  them  she  lost  herself  and  found  herself ;  and  from  them 
she  drew  her  inspirations.  Her  first  published  volume  (1866), 
contained  specimens  of  translations  from  Heine.  The  poems  in 
this  volume  were  crude  and  immature ;  but  they  are  nevertheless 
characteristic,  giving,  as  they  do,  the  keynote  of  much  that  after 
wards  enfolded  itself  in  her  life.  A  profound  melancholy  per 
vades  the  book,  reminding  us  of  Heine.  There  is  not  a  wholly 
glad  and  joyous  strain  in  the  volume.  The  recurrence  of  broken 
vows,  broken  hearts,  and  broken  lives  in  the  experience  of  this 


1 86  Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature 

maiden  just  entered  upon  her  teens,  leads  us  to  believe  that  she  is 
merely  imitating  Heine.  The  gloomy  and  sombre  streak  later 
took  deeper  root;  it  became  the  stamp  and  heritage  of  her  race, 
born  to  suffer.  But  dominant  and  fundamental  though  it  was, 
Hebraism  was  only  latent  thus  far.  It  was  classic  and  romantic 
art  that  first  inspired  her.  She  pictures  Aphrodite  the  beautiful, 
arising  from  the  waves,  and  the  beautiful  Apollo.  Beauty,  for  its 
own  sake,  supreme  and  unconditional,  charmed  her.  Her  restless 
spirit  found  repose  in  the  pagan  idea — the  absolute  unity  and 
identity  of  man  with  nature,  as  symbolized  in  the  Greek  myths, 
where  every  natural  force  becomes  a  person,  and  where  in  turn, 
persons  pass  with  equal  readiness  and  freedom  back  into  nature 
again.  In  these  connections  the  influence  of  Heine  at  once  sug 
gests  itself — Heine  the  Greek,  Heine  the  Jew,  and  Heine  the 
Pantheist.  Already  in  this  early  volume  we  have  traces  of  the 
kinship,  affinity  and  influence  that  afterwards  so  plainly  declared 
itself.  Foremost  among  the  translations  are  a  number  of  Heine's 
songs,  excellently  rendered.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  she  pub 
lished  her  second  volume,  Admetus  and  Other  Poems.  Of  classic 
themes  we  have  Admetus  and  Orpheus,  and  of  romantic  the 
legend  of  Tannhauser,  showing  clearly  the  influence  of  Heine's 
ballad,  Tannhauser.  All  are  treated  with  the  artistic  finish  of 
Heine.  She  sounds  no  new  note;  Heine's  desolation,  loneliness 
and  despair  are  repeated.  Her  poems,  like  Heine's,  are  subjective 
and  biographical.  Some  later  poems  show  that  she  fell  under 
the  influence  of  Emerson,  with  whom  she  was  brought  into  per 
sonal  relations.  He  became  her  mentor.  Even  his  encourage 
ment  failed  to  elate  her  and  the  morbid,  melancholy  tone  pre 
vailed  in  her  works.  Her  brain  spent  itself  in  dreaming  and 
reverie.  As  in  Heine,  we  still  have  in  her  poems  the  landscape  of 
the  night,  the  glamour  of  moon  and  stars,  pictures  half  real  and 
half  unreal,  mystic  imaginings,  fancies,  dreams,  and  throughout 
the  unanswered  cry,  the  eternal  Wherefore  of  Destiny  (cf. 
Heine's  Fragen,  Nordsee).  In  1874  she  published  Alide,  a  ro 
mance  in  prose  drawn  from  Goethe's  autobiography  (Dichtung 
und  Wahrheit}.  In  1881  appeared  the  translation  of  Heine's 
poems  and  ballads  and  a  few  years  later  her  essay  on  Heine's 


Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature  187 

genius  in  the  Century  Magazine  (Vol.  VII).  She  was  charmed 
by  the  magic  of  his  verse,  the  irridescent  play  of  his  fancy  and 
the  sudden  cry  of  the  heart,  piercing  through  it  all.  She  was  only 
vaguely  conscious  of  the  real  bond  between  her  and  Heine.  Her 
last  days  were  like  those  of  Heine  on  his  mattress-grave  in  Paris. 
She,  too,  the  last  time  she  went  out,  dragged  herself  to  the 
Louvre,  to  the  feet  of  the  Venus,  the  goddess  without  arms,  who 
could  not  help.  Her  intellect  also  seemed  kindled  anew  during 
her  long  agony  and  suffering.  Never  did  she  appear  so  brilliant 
as  when  she  was  wasted  to  a  shadow.  The  poem  Tannhduser 
was  written  in  1870.  It  is  an  unrhymed  narrative.  Many  critics 
accused  her  of  borrowing  from  Morris's  Hill  of  Venus;  but  her 
poem  was  written  before  William  Morris's  poem  appeared.  Her 
chief  indebtedness  is  to  Heine's  Tannhduser.  Many  poems  might 
be  cited  which  show  traces  of  Heine's  influence  on  Emma  Lazarus, 
but  we  shall  confine  ourselves  to  a  few  poems  which  she  herself 
acknowledged  10G  to  be  imitations  of  Heine. 

Heine  tells  us  in  his  Correspondence  that  the  ensemble  of 
his  romance  Donna  Clara  was  a  scene  from  his  own  life — only 
the  park  of  Berlin  became  the  Alcade's  garden,  the  Baroness  a 
Sefiora,  and  he  himself  a  St.  George  or  even  an  Apollo.  This 
was  only  to  be  the  first  part  of  a  trilogy,  the  second  of  which 
shows  the  hero  jeered  at  by  his  own  child  who  does  not  know 
him,  whilst  the  third  discovers  the  child,  who  has  become  a 
Dominican,  and  is  torturing  to  death  his  Jewish  brethren.  The 
refrain  of  these  two  pieces  corresponds  with  that  of  the  first. 
Indeed,  Heine  tells  us  that  this  little  poem  was  not  intended  to 
excite  laughter,  still  less  to  denote  a  mocking  spirit.  He  merely 
wished,  without  any  definite  purpose,  to  render  with  epic  im 
partiality  in  this  poem  an  individual  circumstance,  and  at  the 
same  time,  something  general  and  universal — a  moment  in  the 
world's  history  which  was  distinctly  reflected  in  his  experience, 
and  he  had  conceived  the  whole  idea  in  a  spirit  which  was  any 
thing  rather  than  smiling,  but  serious  and  painful,  so  much  so, 
that  is  was  to  form  the  first  part  of  a  tragic  trilogy.  Guided 


106  Poems  of  Emma  Lazarus.    2  Vols.     Boston,  1889.    Vol.  II,  p.  213. 


1 88  Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature 

by  these  hints,  Emma  Lazarus  has  endeavored  to  carry  out  in  the 
two  following  ballads  Heine's  first  conception.  How  well  she 
has  succeeded  in  imitating  and  reproducing  Heine's  manner,  tone 
and  sentiment  will  become  obvious. 

Don  Pedrillo. 

Not  a  lad  in  Saragossa 
Nobler-featured,   haughtier-tempered, 
Than  the  Alcalde's  youthful  grandson, 
Donna  Clara's  boy  Pedrillo. 

Handsome  as  the  Prince  of  Evil, 
And  devout  as  St.  Ignatius 
Deft  at  fence,  unmatched  with  zither, 
Miniature  of  knightly  virtues. 

Truly  an  unfailing  blessing 
To  his  pious  widowed  mother, 
To  the  beautiful,  lone  matron 
Who  foreswore  the  world  to  rear  him. 

For  her  beauty  hath  but  ripened 
In  such  wise  as  the  pomegranate 
Putteth  by  her  crown  of  blossoms, 
For  her  richer  crown  of  fruitage. 

Still  her  hand  is  claimed  and  courted, 
Still  she  spurns  her  proudest  suitors, 
Doting  on  a  phantom  passion, 
And  upon  her  boy  Pedrillo. 

Like  a  saint  lives  Donna  Clara, 
First  at  matins,  last  at  vespers, 
Half  her  fortune  she  expendeth 
Buying  masses  for  the  needy. 

Visiting  the  poor  afflicted, 
Infinite  is  her  compassion, 
Scorning  not  the  Moorish  beggar, 
Nor  the  wretched  Jew  despising. 

And — a  scandal  to  the  faithful, 
E'en  she  hath  been  known  to  welcome 
To  her  castle  the  young  Rabbi, 
Offering  to  his  tribe  her  bounty. 


Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature  189 

Rarely  hath  he  crossed  the  threshold, 
Yet  the  thought  that  he  hath  crossed  it, 
Burns  like  poison  in  the  marrow 
Of  the  zealous  youth  Pedrillo. 

By  the  blessed  Saint  lago, 
He  hath  vowed  immortal  hatred 
To  these  circumcised  intruders 
Who  pollute  the  soil  of  Spaniards. 

Seated  in  his  mother's  garden, 
At  high  noon,  the  boy  Pedrillo, 
Playeth  with  his   favorite  parrot, 
Golden-green  with  streaks  of  scarlet. 

"Pretty  Dodo,  speak  thy  lesson," 
Coaxed  Pedrillo— "thief  and  traitor"— 
"Thief  and  traitor" — croaked  the  parrot, 
"Is  the  yellow-skirted  Rabbi." 

And  the  boy  with  peals  of  laughter, 
Stroked  his  favorite's  head  of  emerald, 
Raised  his  eyes,  and  lo!  before  him 
Stood  the  yellow-skirted  Rabbi. 

In  his  dark  eyes  gleamed  no  anger, 
No  hot  flush  o'erspread  his  features 
'Neath  his  beard  his  pale  lips  quivered, 
And  a  shadow  crossed  his  forehead. 

Very  gentle  was  his  aspect, 
And  his  voice  was  mild  and  friendly, 
"Evil  words,  my  son,  thou  speakest, 
Teaching  to  the  fowls  of  heaven. 

"  In  our  Talmud  it  stands  written, 
Thrice  curst  is  the  tongue  of  slander, 
Poisoning  also  with  its  victim, 
Him  who  speaks  and  him  who  listens." 

But  no  whit  abashed,  Pedrillo, 
"What  care  I  for  curse  of  Talmud? 
'Tis  no  slander  to  speak  evil 
Of  the  murderers  of  our  Savior. 


igo  Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature 

11  To  your  beard  I  will  repeat  it, 
That  I  only  bide  my  manhood, 
To  wreak  all  my  lawful  hatred, 
On  thyself  and  on  thy  people." 

'  Very  gently  spoke  the  Rabbi, 
"Have  a  care,  my  son  Pedrillo, 
Thou  art  orphaned,  and  who  knoweth 
But  thy  father  loved  this  people?" 

"  Think  you  words  like  these  will  touch  me? 
Such  I  laugh  to  scorn,  sir  Rabbi, 
From  high  heaven,  my  sainted  father 
On  my  deeds  will  smile  in  blessing. 

"  Loyal  knight  was  he  and  noble, 
And  my  mother  oft  assures  me, 
Ne'er  she  saw  so  pure  a  Christian, 
'Tis  from  him  my  zeal  deriveth." 

"  What  if  he  were  such  another 
As  myself  who  stand  before  thee?" 
"I  should  curse  the  hour  that  bore  me, 
I  should  die  of  shame  and  horror." 

"  Harsher  is  thy  creed  than  ours ; 
For  had  I  a  son  as  comely 
As  Pedrillo,  I  would  love  him, 
Love  him  were  he  thrice  a  Christian. 

"  In  his  youth  my  youth  renewing 
Pamper,  fondle,  die  to  serve  him, 
Only  breathing  through  his  spirit — 
Couldst  thou  not  love  such  a  father?" 

Faltering  spoke  the  deep-voiced  Rabbi, 
With  white  lips  and  twitching  fingers, 
Then  in  clear,  young,  steady  treble, 
Answered  him  the  boy  Pedrillo : 

"  At  the  thought  my  heart  revolteth, 
All  your  tribe  offend  my  senses, 
They're  an  eyesore  to  my  vision, 
And  a  stench  unto  my  nostrils. 


Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature  191 

"  When  I  meet  these  unbelievers, 
With  thick-lips  and  eagle  noses, 
Thus  I  scorn  them,  thus  revile  them, 
Thus  I  spit  upon  their  garment." 

And  the  haughty  youth  passed  onward, 
Bearing  on  his  wrist  his  parrot, 
And  the  yellow-skirted  Rabbi 
With  bowed  head  sought  Donna  Clara. 

Fra  Pedro. 

Golden  lights  and  lengthening  shadows, 
Flings  the  splendid  sun  declining, 
O'er  the  monastery  garden 
Rich  in  flower,  fruit  and  foliage. 

Through  the  avenue  of  nut  trees, 
Pace  two  grave  and  ghostly  friars, 
Snowy  white  their  gowns  and  girdles, 
Black  as  night  their  cowls  and  mantles. 

Lithe  and  ferret-eyed  the  younger, 
Black  his  scapular  denoting 
A  lay  brother ;  his  companion 
Large,  imperious,  towers  above  him. 

'Tis  the  abbot,  great  Fra  Pedro, 
Famous  through  all  Saragossa 
For  his  quenchless  zeal  in  crushing 
Heresy  amidst  his  townfolk. 

Handsome  still  with  hood  and  tonsure, 
E'en  as  when  the  boy  Pedrillo, 
Insolent  with  youth  and  beauty, 
Who  reviled  the  gentle  Rabbi. 

Lo,  the  level  sun  strikes  sparkles 
From  his  dark  eyes  brightly  flashing 
Stern  his  voice :    "These  too  shall  perish, 
I  have  vowed  extermination. 

"  Tell  not  me  of  skill  or  virtue, 
Filial  love  or  woman's  beauty. 
Jews  are  Jews,  as  serpents  serpents, 
In  themselves  abomination." 


192  Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature 

Earnestly  the  other  pleaded, 
"If  my  zeal,  thrice  reverend  master, 
E'er  afforded  the  assistance, 
Serving  thee  as  flesh  serves  spirit. 

"  Hounding,  scourging,  flaying,  burning, 
Casting  into  chains  or  exile, 
At  thy  bidding  these  vile  wretches, 
Hear  and  heed  me  now,  my  master. 

"  These  be  nowise  like  their  brethren, 
Ben  Jehudah  is  accounted 
Saragossa's  first  physician, 
Loved  by  colleague  as  by  patient. 

"  And  his  daughter  Donna  Zara 
Is  our  city's  pearl  of  beauty, 
Like  the  clusters  of  the  vineyard 
Droop  the  ringlets  o'er  her  temples. 

"  Like  the  moon  in  starry  heavens 
Shines  her  face  among  her  people, 
And  her  form  hath  all  the  languor, 
Grace  and  glamour  of  the  palm-tree. 

"  Well  thou  knowest,  thrice  reverend  master, 
This  is  not  their  first  affliction, 
Was  it  not  our  Holy  Office 
Whose  bribed  menials  fired  their  dwelling  ? 

"  Ere  dawn  broke,  the  smoke  ascended, 
Choked  the  stairways,  filled  the  chambers, 
Waked  the  household  to  the  terror 
Of  the  flaming  death  that  threatened. 

"  Then  the  poor  bed-ridden  mother 
Knew  her  hour  had  come :  two  daughters, 
Twinned  in  form,  and  mind,  and  spirit, 
And  their  father — who  would  save  them? 

"  Towards  her  door  sprang  Ben  Jehudah, 
Donna  Zara  flew  behind  him 
Round  his  neck  her  white  arms  wreathing, 
Drew  him  from  the  burning  chamber. 

"  There  within,  her  sister  Zillah 
Stirred  no  limb  to  shun  her  torture, 
Held  her  mother's  hand  and  kissed  her, 
Saying,  'We  will  go  together.' 


Heine's  Influence  on  American  Literature  193 

:f  This  the  outer  throng  could  witness, 
As  the  flames  enwound  the  dwelling, 
Like  a  glory  they  illumined 
Awfully  the  martyred  daughter. 

"  Closer,  fiercer,  round  they  gathered, 
Not  a  natural  cry  escaped  her, 
Helpless  clung  to  her  her  mother, 
Hand  in  hand  they  went  together. 

"  Since  that  'Act  of  Faith'  three  winters 
Have  rolled  by,  yet  on  the  forehead 
Of  Jehudah  is  imprinted 
Still  the  horror  of  that  morning. 

"  Saragossa  hath  respected 
His  false  creed;  a  man  of  sorrows, 
He  hath  walked  secure  among  us, 
And  his  art  repays  our  sufferance." 

Thus  he  spoke  and  ceased.     The  Abbot 
Lent  him  an  impatient  hearing, 
Then  outbroke  with  angry  accent, 
"We  have  borne  three  years,  thou  sayest? 

'Tis  enough ;  my  vow  is  sacred. 
These  shall  perish  with  their  brethren. 
Hark  ye !   In  my  veins'  pure  current 
Were  a  single  drop  found  Jewish. 

"  I  would  shrink  not  from  outpouring 
All  my  life  blood  but  to  purge  it. 
Shall  I  gentler  prove  to  others  ? 
Mercy  would  be  sacriligious. 

"  Ne'er  again  at  thy  soul's  peril, 
Speak  to  me  of  Jewish  beauty, 
Jewish  skill  or  Jewish  virtue. 
I  have  said.     Do  thou  remember?" 

Down  beside  the  purple  hillside 
Dropped  the  sun,  above  the  garden 
Rung  the  Angelus'  clear  cadence 
Summoning  the  monks  to  vespers. 


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University  of  Pennsylvania 


CONTRIBUTING  EDITORS 

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STARR  W.  CUTTING  HUGO  K.  SCHILLING 

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